54. A. changed forbidden 55. A. never
D. still
B. replaced C. invented D.
B. often C. even
三、阅读理解
A
Did you ever wish that you had eyes in the back of your head？ Some animals look like they do! However, these “eyes” aren’t for seeing---in fact, they can’t see at all and are called false eyes or eyespots.
It’s easy to be fooled by eyespots---after all, they look a lot like eyes. Yet despite their strong resemblance to real eyes, eyespots are just designs, or patterns, found on different parts of an animal’s body. They’ve also been spied on fish, owls and all kinds of insects.
You might wonder：if eyespots can’t help an animal see, why do they exist at all？ Scientists believe one reason is that eyespots can create a strong reaction in other animals.
In the world of the peacock, eyespots can make a male really stand out from the crowd. Peacocks have long, beautiful tails, often decorated with dozens of eyespots. The female peacock has only a short, unattractive brown tail, with no eyespots at all. During the mating season, males fan out their tails for display while females sit back and watch. Studies show that the male with the most eyespots will have the most opportunities to mate.
Eyespots can also send an entirely different message, acting as a way for an animal to frighten its enemies away. The peacock butterfly has two sets of eyespots on its wings. At rest, the butterfly folds its wings above its body, displaying a dark underside. This helps the butterfly
look less like tasty food to hungry birds. At times, a sharp-eyed enemy will see right through the disguise and dive down to catch it. The butterfly waits until the last possible moment before the bird closes in to open its wings. Out flash its eyespots, as large as the eyes of an owl. This scary display often frightens the bird into flying off.
The four-eyed frog of South American uses a similar approach to defend itself. When an enemy approaches, the frog will turn around, bend over, and lift up its rear end to expose the big, black eyespots. Often, that’s enough to make its enemy run away. 56. Which of the following is TRUE about peacocks？
A. The female has fewer eyespots than the male. B. Males with the most eyespots are most popular. C. The male has a short and unattractive tail. D. Females open their tails to attract males.
57. How many functions of animals’ eyespots are mentioned？
A. 2.
D. 5.
B
It isn’t the first time I have picked tomatoes with Grandma. It is, however, the first time I realize why she requests my help.
For as long as I can remember, Grandma’s plentiful tomato garden has been a sign of summer’s end. Each September, just as the decreased heat of the sun hints at cooler days, Grandma requests my help in her tomato garden. She pats my head and assures me she cannot pick tomatoes without my youthful eyes and quick mind. She says we need to examine each
B. 3.
C. 4.
tomato and agree on its readiness for picking. While Grandma’s request for my help in the tomato garden is always the same, her desire for my help seems to increase each year.
Grandma has eyes for finding even the tomatoes hidden by undergrowth and other tomatoes. I, however, just turn circles looking for the ones I think Grandma will like. I spot what looks like a ripe tomato, head in its direction, and then move to another that appears to be equally ripe. I usually end up watching Grandma and trying to stay out of her way, which seems the only way my eyes and mind are useful. While Grandma says we need to agree on which tomatoes are ready to be picked, my participation does not seem very important. Grandma knows which tomatoes are ready. It is as if she has been in the garden earlier that day, deciding which tomatoes will be picked. I often feel more of a hindrance（妨碍） than a help.
It is not until today that I realize it is my company she cannot do without.
There we are, lost in the tomato vines. As always, Grandma is walking from vine to vine, thanking me for my willingness to assist. I have to stand to spot the edge of Grandma’s hat amongst the plants. I try to stay near her so I can hear her comments and directions.
Grandma’s eyes are always making good judgments, and they are no different in the vegetable garden. From afar she spots what looks like a ripe tomato. As she walks toward the garden, she evaluates the tomato a second time, but from a different angle. If it passes such inspection, I already know it will end up in the basket with the mound of others Grandma has carefully chosen. However, Grandma acts as if she needs a final look to be sure. She calls me to her side, kneels beside the vine while enjoying the warmth of the fading sunlight on her face, and holds the tomato in her hand. She turns each round, red ball toward the sunlight before disconnecting it from the vine with a half-hearted smile.
She then looks at me. I nod my head and smile. Grandma assumes I smile in agreement with her tomato selection. I know I smile, instead, at her.
58. We can infer from the passage that as a tomato picker, the author is ___.
A. incompetent skillful
59. How does the author “already know” the tomato will “end up in the basket”？
A. The author is an expert gardener.
B. lazy
C. enthusiastic
D.
B. The author is Grandma’s assistant.
C. The author has already inspected the tomato’s ripeness. D. The author has spent a lot of time gardening with Grandma. 60. The last two sentences of the passage suggest that the author ___.
A. realizes Grandma’s true intention
B. teases Grandma about her choice of tomatoes C. understands that Grandma wants reassurance D. appreciates Grandma’s skill in finding ripe tomatoes
C
Credit card rewards programs have traditionally featured airline miles, gift certificates, and cash back for customers who spend enough on their cards to rack up points. But recently, credit card companies have started offering a different kind of gift：They’re handing out lower interest rates, refunding interest payments, and using other strategies to provide incentives for cardholders to pay down their debt and make on-time payments. The deals, however, don’t always work in consumers’ favor.
The new Citi Forward card gives cardholders points and reduces their annual interest rate for making on-time payments and for staying under their credit limit. TD Bank’s Simply Flexible card changes customer’s interest rates depending on how much of their balance they pay off. If they pay off 10 percent or more of their balance, then they get the lowest available interest rate; paying between the minimum payment and 5 percent of the balance gets them the highest interest rate. And Discover’s Motiva card gives cardholders one month’s worth of interest back after six consecutive （连续的） on-time payments.
Card companies say the idea behind the new rewards is to help customers get on top of their finances. “It’s all about promoting financial fitness and giving customers the choices they need to help them manage their debt,” says Michael Copley, senior vice president of retail lending for TD Bank. He says he thinks the Simply Flexible card motivates cardholders to pay off more of their debt and attributes the company’s relatively low delinquency（拖欠债款） rate to the product.
Because of the continuing recession （经济萧条）, companies have an incentive to keep their customers from sliding further under water. “This is in response to recognition on the part of issuers that they have to help their cardholders do a better job of managing their money so customers keep those cards for a long time,” says Ron Shevlin, senior analyst at Aite Group, a research and advisory firm. The challenge for companies, he says, is to balance the profitability of consumers who maintain a balance, and therefore pay interest fees each month, against the increased risk that those cardholders pose because they are more likely to default （拖欠） on their debt. Rewards programs that encourage customers to maintain a balance while paying on time, such as the Motiva card, may help them strike that balance.
江苏省无锡市第一中学2020┄2021届高三综合练习英语试卷
