辽宁省沈阳铁路实验中学2017-2018学年高二英语下学期期中试题
时间：100分钟 满分：120分
本试卷分第I卷（选择题）和第II卷（非选择题）两部分。考试结束，将答题纸及答题卡交回。
第Ⅰ卷
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,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
A message stick was a form of ancient and nonverbal communication that came from Australia, particularly among aboriginal people. It was a wooden stick with designs and symbols on it. These objects were relayed by couriers(信使)among various tribes and thus functioned as a means of cross-cultural communication.
“Aboriginal” is a term that refers to those who are believed to be the first known people living in a particular place, and in this case, it is used to describe several subgroups of native Australians. Each group might have its own unique customs and languages. They were often divided by tribes, so these groups needed a means to communicate. Message sticks were first invented for this purpose.
The stick itself was often made of the wood of native Australian trees. Messages were placed on the sticks using a variety of methods, including carving, painting or burning symbols onto the wood. The markings usually consisted of wordless symbols that had to be translated by the courtier. This message was thus usually a physically fit young man who had mental sharpness to properly convey message details.
Message sticks functioned as a short of neutral(中立的)area between tribes. Couriers were allowed to have safe passage, even if they came from an enemy
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land. Sometimes, the method of delivery consisted of a single courier carrying a message stick from tribe to tribe. Other methods had one tribe begin a passing process amongst tribes, with each tribe using its own courier to convey the message to the next tribe.
This object also has survived as part of Australian cultural celebrations. Some schools, for example, design and transport message sticks as a means of learning about the past. In addition, the term “message stick” is often used in Australian lingo as a reference to other communication forms such as newspapers or radio broadcasts.
1. For what purpose did aboriginal people use a message stick? A. To lean from each other.
B. To show one tribe’s power. D. To make communication
C. To show their designs and symbols. across different tribes
2. What is the main idea of the second paragraph? A. What “aboriginal ” means. created
C. What the customs of native Australians were. D. How native Australians were divided into groups.
3. How would an aboriginal tribe treat the courier from an enemy tribe? A. He would be let go.
B. He would be killed.
D. he would be driven out
B. Why message sticks were
C. He would be greatly respected. immediately.
4. Why do some Australian schools design and transport message sticks? A. To learn aboriginal language. history.
C. To refer to newspapers and radios. themselves
B
This was no ordinary class. The students who came together were all science or engineering professors at Cornell University. They had interrupted their research to accept an invitation to take part in an unusual experiment: “ an interesting week of poetry.” This class was part of a study to answer the
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B. To learn about aboriginal
D. To communicate among
questions: Why is science difficult for many nonscience students? What can teachers learn about teaching if they take a class that is not in their field?
The students in the poetry class listened to lectures and took notes. They had reading tasks and had to write three short papers. All students noticed one thing— the importance of spoken words. In science and engineering classes, the instructors put tables and drawings on the blackboard. But in this poetry class, the instructors just talked. They didn’t write anything on the board.
The scientists and engineers noticed one similarity between science and poetry. In both subjects, students need to find layers(层次) of meaning. Some layers are simple, clean, and on the surface; other layers are deeper and more difficult. This search for different levels of meaning doesn’t happen much in undergraduate science classes, but it is important later, in graduate school. And it is always important in humanities(人文科学).
Both the poetry instructors and their students learned something about teaching from this experience. One poetry instructor, for example, now sees the importance of using careful, clear definitions(定义)when he explains a poem. He also plans to be more informative as he teaches. Most of the scientists agreed on several points. First, humanities classes might help science students to see patterns and decide which information is important. Second, the poetry class was fun. One engineer decided, “ We need to change the way we teach engineering to make it an enjoyable experience for students.”
But perhaps the most important result of the experience was this: All of the professors began to think about how they teach and how they can teach better. 5. What do we know about this unusual class? A. The teachers did lots of writing on the board. B. the teachers were invited to attend several lectures. C. The students were professors from a university. D. The students were studying science and humanities. 6. The experiment was designed to find out ________. A. how to teach the students in the science class B. whether poetry is difficult for science students C. what to be taught in the humanities class
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D. why many humanities students find science hard 7. Finding levels of meaning is _______.
A. Important for graduate students in humanities B. difficult for graduate students in humanities C. common for undergraduate students in science D. easy for undergraduate students in science
8. What did the science professors learn after the experiment? A. They should change the way they teach. B. A poem could be explained in clear definitions. C. A poetry class could be more informative. D. Their teaching was an enjoyable experience.
C
Liverpool, my hometown, is a unique city. It is so unique that in 2004 it became a World Heritage (遗产) Site.
I recently returned to my home city and my first stop was at a museum on the River Mersey. Blanketed in mist(薄雾), Victorian architecture rose from the banks of the river, responded to the sounds of sea-birds, and appeared unbelievably attractive. When I headed toward the centre, I found myself surrounded by buildings that mirror the best palaces of Europe. It is not hard to imagine why, on first seeing the city, most visitors would be overpowered(折服) by the beauty of the noble buildings, which are solid signs of Liverpool’s history.
As if to stress its cultural role, Liverpool has more museums and galleries than most cities in Britain. At Walker Art Gallery, I was told that it has the best collections of Victorian paintings in the world，and is the home of modern art in the north of England. However, culture is more than galleries. Liverpool offers many music events. As Britain’s No. 1 music city, it has the biggest city music festival in Europe, and its musicians are famous all over the world. Liverpool is also well known for its football and other sports events. Every year, the Mersey River Festival attracts thousands of visitors, making the city a place of wonder.
As you would expect from such a city, there are restaurants serving food from around the world. When my trip was about to complete, I chose to rest my
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legs in Liverpool’s famous Philharmonic pub(酒馆). It is a monument to perfection, and a heritage attraction itself.
Being a World Heritage Site, my home city is certainly a place of “outstanding universal value”. it is a treasure house with plenty of secrets for the world to explore.
9. Visitors who see the city for the first time would be deeply impressed by
________.
A. its beautiful banks B. its famous museums C. its wonderful palaces D. its attractive buildings
10. The third paragraph is developed mainly by_______. A. providing different examples C. making comparisons
B. following the order of space
D. analyzing causes
11. The author uses the Philharmonic pub to prove that ________. A. Liverpool is a well-known city for its restaurants B. Liverpool is an impressive place full of attraction
C. a pub is a wonderful place for visitors to relax themselves D. a pub is a perfect choice for visitors to complete their journey 12. What is the passage mainly about?
A. The universal value of the world heritage in Liverpool. B. the exciting experience of the author in Liverpool. C. The special cultural atmosphere of Liverpool. D. the beautiful historic sites of Liverpool.
D
William butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13,1865. his childhood lacked the harmony that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. in fact, he inherited(继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama(喜剧) and poetry.
Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late1890s. his early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning.
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辽宁省沈阳铁路实验中学2017-2018学年高二英语下学期期中试题【word版】.doc
