上海市向明中学2025-2026学年高二下学期5月期中英语试题

2025学年第二学期向明中学期中考试 高二年级英语试卷 I. Listening Comprehension Section A Directions: In Section A, you will hear ten short conversations between two speakers. At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. The conversations and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a conversation and the question about it, read the four possible answers on your paper, and decide which one is the best answer to the question you have heard. 1. A. He wants his students to be on time for class. B. He doesn’t allow his students to tell jokes in class. C. He is always punctual for his class. D. He rarely notices which students are late. 2. A. The man thinks the woman can earn the credits. B. The woman is begging the man to let her pass the exam. C. The woman has to attend a summer course to graduate. D. The woman is going to graduate from summer school. 3. A. Do the assignments towards the end of the semester. B. Quit the history course and choose another one instead. C. Take courses with a lighter workload. D. Drop one course and do it next semester. 4. A. 60. B. 90. C. 120. D. 150. 5. A. A painter. B. A mechanic. C. A porter. D. A carpenter. 6. A. Try to help him find rooms in another hotel. B. Let him move to a room with two single beds. C. Check to see if there are any vacancies in her hotel. D. Show him the way to Imperial Hotel. 7. A. The man was sorry to miss the football game. B. The man attended the concert but didn’t like it. C. The man was sorry that he didn’t attend the concert. D. The man is more interested in football than in classical music. 8. A. His injury kept him at home. B. He didn’t think it necessary. C. He was too weak to see the doctor. D. He failed to make an appointment. 9. A. He wants to make an appointment with Mr. Smith. B. He wants to make sure that Mr. Smith will see him. C. He wants to change the time of the appointment. D. He wants the woman to meet him at three o’clock. 10. A. He doesn’t enjoy business trips as much as he used to. B. He doesn’t think he is capable of doing the job. C. He thinks the pay is too low to support his family. D. He wants to spend more time with his family. Section B Directions: In Section B, you will hear two passages and one longer conversation. After each passage or conversation, you will be asked several questions. The passages and the conversation will be read twice, but the questions will be spoken only once. When you hear a question, read the four possible answers on your paper and decide which one is the best answer to the question you have heard. Questions 11 through 13 are based on the following news report. 11. A. They wear designer clothes. B. They tend to live simple lives. C. They attend famous universities. D. They plan for their future. 12. A. They spend much trying to show off. B. They don’t care how much they spend. C. They spend more than they have. D. They don’t get into debt. 13. A. Don’t spend more money than you have. B. Don’t spend time showing people you are rich. C. Being wealthy means being happy with what you have. D. Taking out bank loans makes you richer. Questions 14 to 16 are based on the following passage. 14. A. Possible solutions to problems concerning climate change. B. Why the solution can help solve the problem of climate change. C. The causes and effects of climate change. D. Some of the problems with the solution. 15. A. It is a method to remove the salt from sea water. B. It is a technology of growing plants in water. C. It combines the modern technology of solar energy with a farming technology. D. No water is needed to grow plants by using this technology. 16. A. Vegetables grown using this technology is free of chemicals. B. It helps grow food in difficult situations. C. They have little effect on the environment. D. They can transform sea water into fresh water at a low cost. Questions 17 to 20 are based on the following conversation. 17. A. Preparing for a Maths test. B. The function of the Rosetta Stone. C. A king of Egypt. D. A History presentation. 18. A. It was created over 2,000 years ago. B. It was created by the king of Egypt of that time. C. It contained information in three languages. D. French people found the Rosetta Stone. 19. A. In 1799. B. In 799. C. In 1719. D. In 1749. 20. A. It helped historians learn about ancient Egyptian beliefs and economy. B. It helped researchers understand the hieroglyphs (象形文字). C. It contains secrets of how to live a long life for kings. D. It proved previous discoveries wrong. II. Grammar and Vocabulary Section A 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. Distant Diplomacy When danger approaches, many creatures seem to follow the ancient proverb that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Recently, researchers (21) _______ (find) subtle ways that animals communicate with other species in this kind of cooperative defense treaty. For example, Nature Ecology & Evolution carries a recent study (22) _______ (document) more than 20 bird species on four continents that send similar “whining (哀鸣)” calls when they spot brood parasites (寄生繁殖) such as cuckoos. “That call is essentially the word for ‘cuckoo,’” says study co-lead author James Kennerley at Cornell University. “And it’s recruiting individuals to come together (23) _______ this common enemy.” Brood parasites lay eggs in other birds’ nests, tricking the host birds into raising their chicks for them. At a field site in Australia, Kennerley has witnessed individuals from a dozen or more species (24) _______ (attack) a cuckoo in response to whining calls in chorus. These mobs can be so aggressive that Kennerley needs to cage the specimen (25) _______ (use) in their experiments to protect it. Otherwise the attacking birds would have “just completely torn it to pieces,” Kennerley says. Many birds also share a common vocabulary for predators. Research by wildlife ecologist Erick Greene shows that various songbirds produce recognizable “seet” calls to warn each other of a flying raptor (猛禽). (26) _______ such high sounds cannot be heard easily by those enemies, they can move safely while receiving danger messages. If the raptor settles, songbirds switch to “mobbing” calls, a distinct sound (27) _______ draws in the troops to drive that raptor off. Defense is not the only reason for cross-species communication. Among other things, it (28) _______ help birds migrate and enhance food intake. A recent study found that when seabirds with good vision search for food with (29) _______ with strong senses of smell, they both have far greater success at catching krill (磷虾). Unlike with the seet and whining calls, however, it’s unclear (30) _______ they’re signaling to one another on purpose or just randomly following other birds. Section B 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. advocacy B. effectively C. endangered D. identified E. mirror F. polarizing G. promise H. promoting I. surfacing J. slightly K. income Rewriting the Relationship Between Elephant and Keeper In 2019, before Covid-19 damaged international tourism, Thailand was the eighth-most-visited country in the world, its 39.8 million international visitors generating 20% of the country’s GDP. Elephants are Thailand’s biggest attraction: The World Animal Protection Agency estimates that, before the pandemic, elephant tourism brought in a(n)    31    of $581-770 million USD every year. The boom of elephant tourism has been accompanied by criticism, with reports    32    of animal abuse and a lack of government regulation. Since the 2000s,    33    for better elephant welfare has been raised by animal rights groups such as Lek Chailert of Elephant Nature Park. In response to the criticism, the Thai government passed its first animal welfare act in 2014, and    34    ceased the illegal capture of wild elephants. Tourism companies stopped    35    elephant rides and shows. Instead, they began to advertise “ethical” elephant experiences and    36    “no hook, no chain, no riding.” The debate around elephant tourism is deeply    37    setting elephant welfare against Thai tradition. Thai laws    38    this duality (双重性), governing its wild and captive (圈养的) elephants as if they were entirely different creatures. Wild elephants are treated as a(n)    39    species and have lived in Thailand’s national parks protected by strict conservation laws since 1921. Its captive elephants, on the other hand, are working animals, governed by the department in charge of livestock. Even though Thailand has more captive elephants than anywhere else in Asia, today, the country’s 3,837 captive elephants only    40    outnumber the wild ones, caught as they are between a fading tradition and a booming industry. Ensuring elephant welfare isn’t as simple as setting all of them free. III. Reading Comprehension Section A Directions: For each blank in the following passages 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. The Dark Side of Creativity Few psychological traits are as desirable as creativity — the ability to come up with ideas that are both novel and useful. Yet it is also true that creativity has been related to a wide range of unattractive, rarely discussed qualities. Being aware of these (41)_____ is important for anyone trying to better understand their own creativity, or that of other people. First, research has established a link between creativity and negative moods. You do not have to be depressed to be creative. However, it is true that there is some concrete evidence for the (42)_____ that artists tend to be depressive or suffer from mood swings. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once noted: “One must have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” Generally, people who are very emotionally (43)_____ may be too happy to feel the need to create. (44)_____, if the status quo (现状) is fine, why change it? More recently, creativity has been (45)_____ with dishonesty, probably because it enables individuals to creatively distort reality. This is not to say that creative people are necessarily unethical. (46)_____, their lower tolerance for boredom and tradition, and their more vivid imaginations, equip them with more sophisticated mental tools to (47)_____ both themselves and others. Research has also found that creative individuals are often more narcissistic (自恋的), and that narcissism can actually (48)_____ creative achievements. This makes sense. Narcissistic people are (49)_____ on themselves, and naturally spend more time developing their own ideas and less time (50)_____ pleasing other people. However, it is important to note that narcissists tend to think that they are more creative than they actually are. Of course, the bright side of creativity tends to (51)_____ its dark side. At the (52)_____ level, creativity has been linked to a wide range of positive emotions, such as flow engagement, and subjective well-being. When people are assigned to meaningful jobs and are given (53)_____ over their work, they will develop their creativity and enjoy all of its benefits. At the team level, coordinated group behavior can turn creativity into actual (54)_____, the practical side of creativity. And at the societal level, creativity provides the (55)_____ of change and progress. Without creativity, we would still be living in the dark ages. 41. A. failures B. tendencies C. benefits D. boundaries 42. A. stereotype B. view C. tradition D. concept 43. A. flexible B. stable C. sensitive D. delicate 44. A. Above all B. After all C. What’s more D. In short 45. A. combined B. associated C. compared D. equipped 46. A. However B. Moreover C. Therefore D. Rather 47. A. deceive B. influence C. control D. forgive 48. A. limit B. boost C. block D. weaken 49. A. strict B. keen C. focused D. dependent 50. A. belonging to B. referring to C. worrying about D. looking for 51. A. overshadow B. reflect C. balance D. replace 52. A. basic B. individual C. average D. final 53. A. praise B. pressure C. autonomy D. honour 54. A. experience B. passion C. fact D. innovation 55. A. signs B. rules C. seeds D. aims Section B 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) It happens just about every time I go to a restaurant with my daughter. I open the menu and scan the options. Then I glance at the children’s menu. Oftentimes, the menu is pretty similar, with the same pasta and tomato sauce. But the items on the children’s menu are usually less expensive, and I’ll think to myself: Wow, good deal. If I think again for a moment, though, the deal isn’t really a deal. After all, I estimated the cost of the pasta based on the adult menu, not on the actual cost of making some bow-tie noodles and serving them with a red sauce. My faulty reasoning is the product of anchoring, a cognitive bias (认知偏差) that can weaken our critical thinking. According to researchers, anchoring is when people rely on irrelevant but easily accessible facts to make judgments. Our minds give too much weight to initial impressions or numbers that influence our subsequent thoughts. In my case, the prices on the adult menu shaped or anchored my judgment about the value of the items on the children’s menu. Studies show that anchoring effects persist, no matter how weak the connection between the anchor and the actual decision. One study found that “estimates of an athlete’s performance were influenced by the number on his jersey (运动衫).” In other words, people thought that an athlete with a higher jersey number was better than an athlete with a lower number, all else being equal. Anchoring affects all kinds of decisions, even those made by experts who should know better. In particular, a recent study shows that anchoring is far more common in the financial world than previously believed, with substantial anchoring effects influencing performance in the stock market. A study showed that investors valued firms more highly if the firms had higher stock prices. So, if two companies have the same financial profile except that Company X has fewer shares at a higher price than Company Y, then Company X’s shares will sell better over the long run than Company Y’s. Why? Because the stock price-the anchor-enhances the company’s perceived value. The phenomenon of anchoring shows that while we think of ourselves as rational and logical beings, unrelated details can have an outsized influence on our reasoning. The best solution is to improve critical thinking skills. Otherwise, you might be a victim of anchoring, dragged down by your bias, whether you notice it or not. 56. Why does the author mention his restaurant experience with his daughter at the beginning? A. To show that the price should be estimated on the actual cost of dishes. B. To introduce the concept of anchoring in a vivid and relatable way. C. To explain the real cost of producing simple food like pasta. D. To point out the unfair price difference between adults and kids. 57. According to the researchers mentioned in the passage, what characterizes the cognitive bias of anchoring? A. People tend to completely ignore previous data when presented with new financial information. B. People rely on facts that are unrelated but readily available to form their judgments. C. People make decisions by carefully calculating the average of all available numerical data. D. People give equal importance to the first and last pieces of information they encounter. 58. Which of the following is a typical example of anchoring? A. A buyer thinks a discounted car is good value just because its original price was very high. B. A customer chooses a meal because it is healthy and delicious. C. A fan supports a team because they won the championship last year. D. A student works harder after receiving encouragement from teachers. 59. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A. How Initial Numbers Mislead Our Daily Judgments B. Hidden Bias That Distorts Financial Decisions C. Anchoring: A Powerful Cognitive Bias D. Logical Thinking Against Unreasonable Beliefs (B) Five Stages of Brain Change Stage Age Brain Characteristics Childhood 0-9 The brain grows rapidly. Extra connections are removed to make the brain more efficient. Adolescence 9-32 Brain connections strengthen and communication between brain regions becomes faster. Adulthood 32-66 Brain activity becomes steady. Intelligence and personality remain relatively steady, too. Early Aging 66-83 White matter gradually weakens. Some brain regions form stronger groups, but they are less connected to other groups. Late Aging 83+ Connections between brain regions decrease and the brain relies on fewer pathways. 60. Which of the following descriptions about our brains is correct? A. At 60, white matter is beginning to weaken. B. At 72, brain regions become less dependent. C. At 90, distant brain areas get more connected. D. At 25, brain connections are becoming stronger. 61. The discoveries of our brains could help to explain ______. A. why brain-related conditions might arise at certain ages B. how a map of pathways that change over time can be built C. how five distinct stages work differently for different people D. why the significance of nerve fibers has long been overlooked 62. The reading material is mainly intended to ______. A. compare several brain-related diseases B. highlight how brain science benefits people C. introduce findings about brain development D. provide concrete advice for a healthy lifestyle (C) A small step for women The glass ceiling in the corporate world is not broken, but it is starting to crack. Women are getting on to corporate boards at greater speed, and in greater numbers. Research by LinkedIn, a professional networking site, shows that across five countries, women it lists as directors reached the position faster than their male counterparts did. In America, for example, women got there 9.8 years after leaving university and men after 10.9 years. This suggests that younger women are making good progress in the boardroom. Overall, however, females are still lagging behind the males. The proportion of people in leadership roles (director-level and above) that is female in the five countries varies from 17% in India to 35% in America. Nevertheless, some firms may be paying lip service to the idea of female leadership. A paper highlights the phenomenon of “twokenism”, a statistical bunching of American companies with exactly two female directors. The authors suggest this is directly related to the average number of female directors on S&P 1500 boards in the period studied (2004-13), which was 1.92. By opting for two women, businesses could claim they had “above average” female representation. In any case, a rise in the number of female directors is a narrow measure of female economic success. Having women at the top of organizations may inspire others to emulate (仿效) them, and board members may be able to push through more female-friendly policies lower down in their organizations. But the vast majority of women would never expect to become directors. What they value is an opportunity to get a well-paid job and to be free from discrimination while doing it. In this respect, the news is less encouraging. Across the OECD the gender pay gap of full-time employees averages 13.5% and varies widely, from 3.4% in Luxembourg to 36.7% in South Korea. It can be hard to adjust for all the many factors, such as skill levels, that might explain this gap. Nevertheless, the OECD found last year that full-time employed women with a college degree earned, on average, 26% less than their male equivalent. Problems are deep-rooted. In many developing economies, more than half of all on agricultural female workers relied on informal employment, a higher share than men. Not only do these women get paid less as a result, they also lack access to state social programmes, such as unemployment benefit and pensions, which are often designed with formal employment status in mind. So there is certainly cause to celebrate women making small steps forward in the boardroom. But bigger leaps are still needed elsewhere. 63. According to the research by LinkedIn, which of the following is true? A. Women directors in the five countries stay longer in their positions than men. B. American women reach director-level positions more quickly than men. C. Men in America become directors sooner after graduation than women. D. Women directors make up more than half of leadership roles in the five countries. 64. What does the underlined phrase “paying lip service to” most probably mean? A. Showing sincere support for. B. Making empty promises about. C. Offering timely help to. D. Collecting different opinions on. 65. What can be inferred from the passage? A. Full-time employed women who lack a college degree earn 26% less than those who have one. B. Having more female leaders can solve the female employment problems. C. There are still a number of women who are underpaid or discriminated in their work. D. Most companies with two female directors aim to achieve real gender equality. 66. What is the author’s attitude towards women’s progress in the corporate world? A. Optimistic about the current situation and confident about the future. B. Critical of all measures taken to promote female leadership. C. Satisfied with the improvements and ignoring existing problems. D. Recognizing small progress but emphasizing more efforts are needed. Section C 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 feels particularly unfair when the 3D effects are so subtle you forget you are wearing the glasses. B. They also carried out a brain-training-style test before and after seeing a part from the film. C. The initial results of this study indicate that 3D films may potentially play a role in slowing this decline. D. The results show that younger participants exhibited more significant brain activity than older ones while watching 3D movies. E. According to the results, participants were 7 percent more engaged with what they were watching, adding to the argument that 3D movies are more like watching real-life-something. F. But there may be a benefit to doing so, as a study has claimed that 3D films exercise the brain and improve short-term functioning in a similar way to brain-training tests. 3D Films May Help Improve Brain Function Paying more for a ticket to see a film in 3D is the cause of annoyance of many cinema-goers’ life. 67. ______ The research was led by neuroscientist (神经科学家) Dr Patrick Fagan from Goldsmiths University in London. More than 100 people took part in the experiment, where participants watched Disney film Big Hero 6 in either standard type or RealD 3D. 68. ______ The test covered memory, reaction time and cognitive (认知的) function, and the results were later compared. According to the research, participants experienced a 23 percent increase in cognitive processing, as well as an 11 percent increase in reaction time. Dr Fagan said that the results showed enough of an improvement in brain function to suggest that 3D could play a part in improving brain power in the future. “These findings are more significant than you might think,” he said. “It is a fact that people are living longer and there is a noticeable decline in cognitive brain function in old age which can damage future quality of life. There has never been a better time to look at ways to improve brain function. 69. ______ A second part of the experiment involved those watching the film being fitted with headsets (头戴式耳机) that scanned brain activity and this too showed heightened activity when watching 3D. 70. ______ “A 7 percent rise in emotional engagement is extremely remarkable. Watching in 3D gives the viewer such an enriched and quality experience, as these results show,” he said. “In evolutionary terms, the results of both parts of the test certainly make sense. 3D films are more likely to heighten the senses and cause emotional arousal — this, in turn, makes the brain run at quicker speeds,” Dr Fagan added. IV. Summary Writing 71. 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. Fiction Reading For many people, nothing is more enjoyable than spending a whole afternoon reading a good novel. But are novels simply a pleasant way to pass the time, or could it be true that reading fiction actually benefits our lives? One of the joys of fiction is that it can take us to places that our lives won’t. It can transport us to 17th-century France, or to war-torn Germany. It can take us to a future world in which artificial intelligence takes over and books are banned, or a fantasy world where people battle it out for food. Fiction can also introduce us to a whole range of people that we haven’t yet met. And this, according to Carrie Oates, a novelist and academic, is perhaps the real benefit of stories. In one of her studies, participants were asked to read either a short story by Chekhov, or a version of the story in documentary form. Those who were given the fictionalised version were found to be more likely to sympathise with the characters, thus going through greater changes in personality. In another study, she showed participants photos of the eyes of people who were feeling and thinking different things. The people who read fiction were better able to interpret those thoughts and feelings than those who didn’t read. Oates explains that when we read fiction, we enter into the minds of the characters. We think about why they behave in a certain way, and what they are likely to do next. Just as we might become more knowledgeable about psychology and astronomy if we read about psychology and astronomy, we get better at this kind of social thinking if we read fiction. This improves our understanding of the thoughts and feelings of those around us in real life. V. Translation Directions: Translate the following sentences into English, using the words given in the brackets. 1．在投资项目的过程中出现了一些问题。(arise) 2．习惯囤东西的人，总会把物件承载的情感价值视作理所当然，迟迟不愿断舍离。(grant) 3．尽管偏远的地理环境在很大程度上限制了土著部落的发展，却也让他们一代代维系着独树一帜的原始生活模式。(Despite) 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $