英语 热门试卷

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

ABOUT BC BOOK PRIZES

The BC Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers.

The seven Prizes are presented annually at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala in the spring, with the winner of The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence being announced beforehand at the annual BC Book Prizes Soiree (an evening party).

The Prizes are administered and awarded by members of a non-profit society who represent all aspects of the publishing and writing community.

General Criteria

· The book must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number).

· The book must have a print run of at least 350 copies.

· The book must be at least 48 pages long unless it is a children’s picture book in which case it must be at least 24 pages long.

· The book must show in print that it was published in the appropriate eligible (具备条件的) year.

· The main language of the book must be English.

· Three copies of the submitted book must be provided for the judges for each prize category entered.

· Submissions must be made using the BC Book Prizes Official Entry Form.

Expectations of finalists and winners

· The publishers of finalist book will be expected to participate in the shared cost of print ads placed in BC newspapers announcing the finalists. Cost per book is $100.

· All publishers, authors and illustrators are invited to attend the Soiree, which is a free event.

· Tickets to the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prizes Gala are not provided to finalists, so must be paid for by the authors/illustrators or their publishers.

【语篇导读】本文是一篇说明文，描述了the BC Book Prizes，内容包括该奖项的设立时间，对获选该奖项书籍及作者的要求等信息。

D

In the 1500’s when the Spanish moved into what later was to become the southwestern United States, they came across the ancestors of the modern-day Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni peoples. These ancestors, known variously as the basket makers, the Anasazi, or the Ancient ones, had lived in the area for at least 2,000 years. They were an advanced agricultural people who used irrigation to help grow their crops.

The Anasazi lived in houses constructed of adobe (土砖) and wood. Anasazi houses were originally built in holes and were entered from the roof. But around the year 700 A.D., the Anasazi began to build their homes above ground and join them together into groups of multistoried large buildings, which the Spanish called pueblos or villages. Separate rooms under the ground in these pueblos – known as kivas – were set aside for religious ceremonies. Each kiva had a hole that was believed to lead to the underworld. The largest pueblos had five stories and more than 800 rooms.

The Anasazi family was matrilinear (母系遗传). The holy objects of the family were under the control of the oldest female, but the actual ceremonies were conducted by her brother, or son. Women owned the rooms in the pueblo and the crops, once they were harvested. While still growing, crops belonged to the men, who, in contrast to most other Native American groups, planted them. The women made baskets and pottery; the men made cloth and jewelry.

Each village had two chiefs. The village chief dealt with land disputes (争议) and religious affairs. The war chief led the men in fighting during occasional conflicts that broke out with neighboring villages and directed the men in community building projects. The solid political and social organization of the Anasazi made it almost impossible for other groups to conquer them.

【语篇导读】本文是一篇说明文，详细介绍了阿那萨齐族的起源，特征及发展。

B

When I saw my 10-year-old avoiding the dirty plate in the sink or my 8-year-old feeling uncomfortable about the wet sand in her hands, I’m reminded of a time when I was unwilling to get my hands a little dirty.

My parents owned a 500-acre farm in Montana to raise animals, such as cows, sheep, horses and so on. It was during the time of new life (a newborn lamb or a calf) that my favorite childhood memory took place. One exceptionally cold day, I was checking on the sheep with my mother when she spied a ewe (母羊) in trouble. The poor thing was trying to deliver her baby lamb and needed our help. My mother calmly held the ewe’s head and instructed me to grab hold of the two protruding（突出）legs.

I hesitated, and must have had quite a look of panic on my young face. The slimy little things were definitely not something I wanted to touch. But I worked up my courage and wrapped my fingers around them. I can still recall the feel of unexpectedly weak legs and their sharp little hooves as if it happened yesterday.

My heart pounded in fear and excitement as I pulled with all my strength. The lamb was delivered safely, and I’d never seen anything so beautiful.

I was no stranger to seeing farm animals being born, but to have a hand in it was something I treasured then and will treasure forever. I remember feeling excited with delight to see “my lamb” being licked clean by her mother, and I’m sure everyone got very tired of hearing me tell and retell my heroic story. Looking back, I’m so glad that I didn’t refuse to get my hands dirty. If I had, the wonderful moment and the precious memory would have been lost.”

【语篇导读】本文是一篇记叙文，记述了作者小时候母羊接生的故事，作者由怕脏到帮母羊接生而感谢这段经历。

C

Michael Phelps has broken a 2,000-year-old Olympic record by winning more individual titles than Leonidas of Rhodes. Who was this athlete whose record (12 individual titles) has taken 2000 years to beat?

Phelps has a total of 22 Olympic gold medals, but in terms of individual titles he has only just passed the greatest athlete of the ancient world. Leonidas of Rhodes competed in four Olympiads in 164 BC, 160 BC, 156 BC and 152 BC and in each of these he won three different foot races.

The three events at which he won were the stadion, a sprint(短跑) of roughly 200m; the diaulos, which was twice the distance of the stadion; and the race in armour(盔甲).

Unlike most races, the race in armour required competitors to wear heavy armour, possibly including a helmet, a breastplate, shin armour and a shield made from bronze and wood.

“He broke through the distinction between sprinters and endurance（耐力） athletes,” says Paul Cartledge, professor of classics at the University of Cambridge. The race in armour had not previously been considered suitable for sprinters. “They were running in armour, the temperature would be 40℃. You can imagine how it would be in that race. It required completely different muscles and gymnastic skills.”

“There is very little biographical information about Leonidas, and no images of him survive,” says Cartledge. But his name — coming from the Greek word for lion - suggests he was a man of distinction. After his death, “he was respected as a local god in Rhodes,” says Swaddling, the director of a museum. He was also venerated in ancient Greek literature. Pausanias described him as “the most famous runner”. In the 3rd Century, Philostratus the Athenian wrote in his Gymnastikos that Leonidas's achievement proved that not all received wisdom about athletic training and body types was true.

A statue of him in Rhodes displayed the legend: “He had the speed of a God.” Quite a reputation for Phelps to live up to.

【语篇导读】本文是一篇记叙文，主要讲述了Leonidas of Rhodes的荣誉和赛绩，以及对他所参加的比赛的介绍。

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。

A company in the USA is paying its workers to sleep more. Staff at the insurance company Aetna will get $300 a year  61 bd blank (add) to their salary if they get at least seven hours of sleep a night. They will get just over a dollar for each night they sleep over seven hours. The idea behind this plan is employee  62 bd blank (perform). Human resources    63 bd blank (official) say workers will work more effectively if they have slept well. A workforce that is more rested means the company will perform  64 bd blank   (well). Staff can either record their sleep automatically,  65 bd blank (use) a wrist monitor, or record by hand how long they have slept every night.

66 bd blank  number of studies warn that not sleeping enough can affect our ability to do our job. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine said that the average worker in the USA loses 11.3 working days of productivity a year from a lack  67 bd blank sleep. This    68 bd blank    (cost) companies about $2,280 for one worker. It estimates (估计) that the US economy loses $63.2 billion a year mainly  69 bd blank workers do not sleep more than seven hours a night. A 2015 study by the Rand Corporation showed that staff members sleeping less than seven hours per night    70 bd blank (find) far less productive than workers having eight or more hours of sleep.

【语篇解读】本文讲述了一名老师通过努力最终感化学生的故事。