甘肃省白银市会宁县第一中学2018届高三上学期期中考试英语试题
会宁一中2017-2018学年度第一学期高三期中考试英语试卷
第一部分：阅读理解（共两节， 每小题2分，满分40分）
A
They crossed in front of me as I was driving out of the store parking lot (停车场)．I would be delayed for a whole ten seconds. However，I realized that it was an elderly couple who were briefly delaying my departure (出发)．No more anger.
The man leaned on his wife who walked in front of him. He not only used her for support but it was obvious that he was blind. She was his eyes as well. The two of them worked as one—each needing the other to function in this fast changing world.
That little example of true strength that day changed my whole personal perception of life. Suddenly I wasn't so mad about having to work a few extra hours on Saturday. I had my strength，and I was still relatively young.
That picture of those two elderly people walking with dignity and strength stayed with me the entire week. My life wasn't so bad after all. I had my health and a good job. My wife always gave me good advice whenever I needed it. I started to think—not only was I lucky to have it all，but so was that wonderful old couple，who，despite the trials and hardships of a long life，still had the love and support of each other to carry them through this world.
There are so many people out there just like that couple. My wife and I sometimes picture ourselves in our old age，walking arm-in-arm into the sunset. That image always gives us a warm feeling of comfort. Just remember，none of us would be here if it weren't for our elders. We should spend an extra minute to listen and learn when it comes to helping our elder friends. They need it.[来源:Zxxk.Com]
1. Before meeting the old couple，the author had a(n)________attitude towards life.
A．energetic B．enthusiastic C．desperate D．negative
2. The main message that the author wants to get across in the last paragraph is that________．
A．everyone should live with dignity and strength
B．we should be patient when dealing with old people
C．old people can teach us many important lessons
D．happiness lies in a positive attitude towards life
3. What do we know about the author?
A．He and his wife are in their old age.
B．He has a good but busy job.
C．His life is very bad actually.
D．He and his wife often walk arm-in-arm.
B
I was very disappointed not to be able to go to the jazz concert last Friday.
The advertisement in the paper said that you could buy tickets at the theatre box in Richland Hills any day between 10：00 and 4: 00. Since I work from 9: 00 to 5: 
30, the only time I could go to the theatre was during my 45minute lunch break. Unfortunately, the theatre is on the other side of the town, and the bus service between my office and Richland Hills is not very good. But if you are lucky, you can make the round trip in 45 minutes.
Last Monday, I stood at the bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for the bus. By the time I saw one come around the corner, there was not enough time left to make the trip. So I gave up and went back to the office. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and again next day. On Thursday, my luck changed. I got on a bus right away and arrived at the theatre in exactly 20 minutes. When I got there, however, I found a long line of people at the box office, I heard one man say he had been waiting in line for over an hour. Realizing I would not have enough time to wait in line, I caught the next bus and headed back across the town. By Friday I realized my only hope was to make the trip by taxi, it was expensive, but I felt it would be worth it to hear the concert. The trip by taxi only took 10 minutes, but felt like an hour to me. When I got to the theatre, I was relieved to see that nobody was waiting in line. The reason, however，I quickly discovered, was that they had already sold all the tickets.
4. The man learned ________ that there would be a concert last Friday.
A．from his friends
B．from one of his workmates
C．over the radio
D．from the newspaper
5. He tried to go to the theatre every day but managed to get there only ________.
A．once B．twice C．three times D．four times
6. One day the man took ________ to get to the theatre by bus.
A．forty-five minutes B．fifteen minutes
C．just twenty minutes D．over an hour
7. The underlined word “relieved” may best be replaced by ________.
A．surprised B．pleased C．puzzled D．sorry
C
“Plants were expected to get larger with increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but changes in temperature, humidity and nutrient availability seem to have trumped the benefits of increased carbon dioxide，” said researchers from the National University of Singapore.
45 percent of the species studied now reach smaller adult sizes than they did in the past. The researchers pointed out that warmer temperatures and changing habitats, caused by climate change, are possible reasons for shrinking creatures.
“We do not yet know the mechanisms involved, or why some organism are getting smaller while others are unaffected，” the researchers said. “Until we understand more, we could be risking negative consequences that we can't yet quantify.”
The change was big in coldblooded animals. Only two decades of warmer temperatures were enough to make reptiles（爬行动物）smaller. An increase of 1 degree centigrade caused nearly a 10 percent increase in metabolism（新陈代谢）. Greater use of energy resulted in tiny tortoises and little lizards. Fish are smaller now too. Though overfishing has played a part in reducing numbers, experiments show that warmer temperatures also stop fish growth. There is a recent report on warmer temperatures' negative effects on plankton（浮游生物）, the base of the marine ecosystem.
Warm-blooded animals weren't immune from the size change caused by climate change. Many birds are now smaller. Mammals have been miniaturized too. Soay sheep are thinne
r. Red deer are weaker. And polar bears are smaller, compared with historical records. This is not the first time this has happened in Earth's history.
55 million years ago, a warming event similar to the current climate change caused bees, spiders and ants to shrink by 50 to 75 percent over several thousand years. That event happened over a long time than the current climate change.