【全国百强校word】辽宁省葫芦岛第六高级中2018届高三上学期第二次阶段（期中）考试英语试题（有答案）

第一部分  阅读理解(共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15小题;每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

A

	Gypsies     According to the linguistic and genetic researches, ancestors of the Gypsies left the land of India in the amount that did not go beyond 1,000 people. Today there are about 10 million Gypsies in the world. Some scientists believe that Gypsies were Egyptians.
	Sumerians     Sumerians must be the mysterious people in the ancient world. We know nothing about their origin and nothing about the origin of their language. The Sumerians were rather advanced—they became the first in the Near East to use a wheel, to create an irrigation system and their unique writing. And besides, they were impressively good at maths and astronomy.
	Maya     Some scientists believe that they are connected to legendary atlantes (男像柱), others suppose their ancestors were Egyptians. It’s thought that the Maya created an efficient agricultural system and had deep astronomy knowledge. Their calendar was used by other people of Central America. Maya applied the hieroglyphic writing (象形文字) system. Now it seems that the Maya came from nowhere and disappeared nowhere.

1. Whose ancestors do some scientists believe were Egyptians?

A. Gypsies and Maya.        B. Maya and Sumerians.

C. Gypsies and Sumerians.       D. Europeans and Sumerians.

2. The Maya are thought to       .

A. exist on the earth now       B. have 10 million people

C. have no writing system       D. be creative in some fields

3. What can we learn from the text?

A. The origion of the Maya has been discovered by scientists.

B. The ancestors of the Gypsies left the land of India in the middle ages.

C. The Europeans were thought to be the most mysterious people in the ancient world.

D. The Sumerians were the first to use a wheel in the irrigation system in the Near East.

B

I’ve worked part time since taking early retirement ten years ago. I was inspired by an older friend. We worked for the same company, and he retired two years before I was also considered “spare”, as some companies call it.

Soon after I left work, we had lunch together. First, he assured me that there was life after work. Then he related his own experience. He didn’t want to take another full-time job, so he turned his daughter’s old bedroom into a home office. He arranged for some consulting work from our old company, and he picked up more projects from other contacts. Soon he was working 20 to 30 hours a week. He wasn’t making as much money. His kids were grown-up, so he didn’t need as much income. “As soon as I left that job,” he told me, “my back problems went away. I started to eat better and get more exercise, I make half as much money, but I feel twice as good, and I’m twice as happy.”

I decided to follow a similar track. At the time, my younger child almost finished college, so my parental responsibilities were winding down. We sold our old house and moved into a townhouse. I went to work for myself. And the result? Today I, too, make less money. But we make ends meet. And I feel twice as good and twice as happy.

Our experience isn’t for everybody. But a lot of people have retired early and lived to tell the tale, which proves it possible. Jack, another friend, was a salesman for a communication firm. He had a long distance to work and did a lot of traveling. He decided to leave the corporate world, in part because he had health problems and he wanted to spend more time with his family. Later, he quit his job with flexible hours and was restored to his health. And now he has found a part-time job, and he, together with his family, is leading a more relaxing life.

4. How did the author and his friends feel about their retired life?

A. It’s busy but wealthy.        B. It’s flexible but tiring.

C. It’s healthy and happy.       D. It’s relaxing and wasteful.

5. What did the writer’s friend try to tell him at lunch that day?

A. He regretted not leaving his job earlier.

B. He lived a much better life after retiring.

C. He made more money after finding a new job.

D. His life was not easy for him after losing his job.

6. Before Jack left his last job, he       .

A. lived a busy life         B. used to find part-time jobs

C. often traveled with his family      D. worked hard as a real travel agent

7. What does the author mainly confirm by writing the text?

A. Health is more important than work.

B. Young people generally live an exhausting life.

C. More retired people are paying attention to health.

D. It may be a good choice for people who retire early to do a part-time job.

C

On Aug 29, 1988, the University of Wisconsin-Madison juniors Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson published the first-ever issue of The Onion. The two founders claimed it was the “finest news source” in the US. 25 years later, the news has become one of the most established media presences in the US. But don’t expect accuracy and timeliness from it, because The Onion only publishes fake news or news satire (讽刺). Its aim is to make readers laugh and see things from a different angle.

Will Tracy, The Onion’s editor-in-chief, told the NPR in an interview. “The stories are presented in that sort of news voice which improves the news to a certain level of importance. The news isn’t actually understandable but it has an ability to elegantly locate a problem with concise and plain words.” For example, when George W. Bush became the US president in 2001, The Onion published a satire piece predicting massive debt and a huge growth in military spending. The headline said it all—Bush: “Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over”.

Traditional media outlets are cautious when reporting sensitive topics such as religion and race. Tracy says/‘Nothing is off limits for The Onion, no matter how uncomfortable they may make some readers.” But editors at The Onion do stand a fine line, as Tracy explains: “What you have to be really careful about is what the target of the joke is. If the target of the joke is wrong, then it doesn’t feel right and it also doesn’t feel funny.” The Onion made the public outrageous when earlier this year, it tried to make fun of a 9-year-old Oscar-nominated (奥斯卡提名的) actress by using highly impolite language. It later apologized.