祁县中学2015年10月月考英语试题

本试卷分第Ⅰ卷(选择题)和第Ⅱ卷(非选择题)两部分。满分150分，考试时间为100分钟。

第Ⅰ卷（选择题 共100分）

第一部分 阅读理解 （共两节，满分60分）

第一节 （共15小题;每小题3分，满分45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，并在题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

A British shopper, Emma Mumford, who was named “the Coupon(优惠券) Queen” has spent just ￡350 on a luxury(奢侈) Christmas for her and her family—but got ￡2,500 worth of food, drink and presents thanks to coupons and offers.

Ms Mumford is a so-called “extreme couponer” and spends hours hunting out the best deals and bargains. She has been preparing for this Christmas since the end of the last one. Ms Mumford made the huge savings by checking price comparison websites and as a result collected more presents than she needed for Christmas. After sorting out gifts for all of her family, she has even been able to donate ￡1,000 worth of presents to her local hospital.

“It has been so nice to have Christmas sorted and not having to worry about breaking the bank. I wanted to get high quality presents for my family and show that you can do it without spending a fortune. There is a misconception that everyone who does couponing only gets value products but through my careful shopping I have managed to purchase designer perfumes(香水), a high-end coffee machine.” she explained.

She said “What started as a hobby to help me save money has turned into my life and I am able to run a business helping people save money. I know what it feels like to struggle as my ex-partner had a lot of debt which I took on for him. We were in a poor situation where every penny counted. That’s what really inspired me.”

She has now turned her bargain-hunting addiction into a business where she searches for the best deals and offers tips to the general public through video blogging and her Facebook Page.

“I try and show people that it is just a little bit of work in the beginning but it will eventually pay off. One of the best things to do is just to be a bit forward thinking and save throughout the year.”

1. How did Emma make the huge savings?

A. She compared prices through websites.

B. She hunted out bargains in real shops.

C. She used coupons and offers worth ￡3,500.

D. She collected more Christmas presents than needed.

2. What does “breaking the bank” in the third paragraph mean?

A. Buying presents of low quality. B. Spending more money than you have.

C. Breaking into the bank. D. Taking out money from the bank.

3. What really inspired Emma to help people save money?

A. Her addiction to bargain-hunting.

B. The financial difficulties she shared with her ex-partner.

C. The poor situation people around her were going through.

D. Her experience of running an unsuccessful business.

4. Which of the following can best describe Emma?

A. Ambitious and creative. B. Sensitive and determined.

C. Brave and lucky. D. Careful and caring.

B

Can you imagine a world without chocolate? It's not something I'd 1ike to do. So I was relieved to read that there’s a university with a programme to safeguard the future of chocolate!

The University of Reading, in England, has just opened a new clearing house for all the world’s new cocoa varieties. They must be quarantined(隔离检疫)before they can be grown. Why? Cocoa production hit a record high of 4.4 million tons last year but about 30％of the precious crop is regularly lost to pests and diseases. Now we don’t want that, do we?

Demand for chocolate has been increasing faster than the world supply of cocoa and researchers think that new varieties are key to solving this problem.

The University of Reading has been protecting the quality of the new crops since 1985, after it took over the task from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew，London. And it has improved its facilities. The leader of the institution’s cocoa project，Professor Paul Hadley, says, “One of the main issues concerning cocoa improvement is the supply of reliably clean，healthy，interesting cocoa material.”

The cocoa centre has a collection of 400 plant varieties and their greenhouse uses a lot of energy to keep them in tropical conditions. After up to two years in quarantine, clean and safe seeds are sent to some 20 countries, including several in West Africa. That’s where 75％of the cocoa used for chocolate worldwide comes from. The crop is extremely important for the local economy: it employs about two million people.

Professor Hadley says he works with a small team of skilled technicians who look after the collection. And more of us seem to count on them now.

The scientist says, “There is some concern within the industry that demand is increasing constantly, particularly in countries like China, where the standard of living is increasing and people are getting a taste for different chocolates.”

5. What is the text mainly about?

A. Safeguarding cocoa seeds. B. Planting cocoa worldwide.

C. Keeping cocoa in greenhouse. D. Finding the new market for cocoa.

6. The institution’s cocoa project is to_______.

A. have cocoa skin removed B. offer more jobs to people

C. ensure the quality of cocoa D. supply cocoa for two million people

7. What does the last paragraph tell us?

A. The taste of chocolates is changing.

B. Demand for cocoa is increasing fast.

C. People are concerned about cocoa varieties.

D. Chinese have a long history of eating chocolates.

8. What’s the purpose of the text?

A. To educate. B. To advertise. C. To warn. D. To inform.

C

Three years ago when I was just a freshman in high school, the busy spring season was approaching quickly. I was already preparing to play the saxophone（萨克斯） in my school's pit orchestra for the musical that year, for state solo and ensemble（合奏）, and softball tryouts（选拔赛） were just around the corner.

It was only the second day of tryouts—a Tuesday. Adults were hitting pop-ups in the outfield as a drill（训练）. The drill was poorly set up, however, as two lines were formed in both the right and left outfields as the adults hit fly balls from the line towards center field. When it was my turn, I stepped up and the ball was hit. I turned and started to run back, but soon realized the ball was hit way too hard for me to catch. I turned around to run and get it... Then I recall waking up on the ground. As it turns out, when I turned to retrieve（取回） the ball, I ran into another player, my front teeth piercing her forehead. As one could imagine, I was horrified! My right front tooth was very loose and about to fall out. With the musical only four days away and state solo and ensemble a week away, It was vexatious!

After going to the dentist and getting my tooth fixed, I went home and to bed after taking the prescribed painkillers. That Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I performed in the musical. I also went to state solo and ensemble the week after and received a one (the best score one can receive), regardless of the pain and discomfort I endured. I was determined to do what I love—play music... and I did.

9. How was the drill place?

A. It was not good. B. It was new. C. It was too hard. D. It was too high.

10. How were the author’s teeth hurt?

A. They were hit by the ball.

B. They knocked into the ground.[:.]

C. They hit a lady’s forehead.

D. They were hit by an adult.

11. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A. there was nothing wrong with the author’s teeth

B. the accident affected the author’s performances

C. the author liked and devoted to music very much

D. the author felt a little disappointed after taking medicine

D

The poaching, or illegal killing, of rhinos(犀牛) in South Africa is growing worse each year. The government recently reported that a record number of rhinos were poached in 2014, a year which had more rhino killings in South Africa than ever before.:.]

The World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, says about 20,000 rhinos live in South Africa. That is more than 80 percent of the rhinos in the world. Edna Molewa, South Africa’s environmental issues minister, says, “During 2014, we are sad to say this, 1, 215 rhinos were killed. This is a rise in the number of poached rhinos from 1004 in 2013 and indeed very worrying.”

The animals are hunted for their horns(犀牛角). Many people in Asia believe the horn has curing power, which drives poachers, at all costs, mad for more horns. But there is no scientific evidence for this belief. The horn is made of keratin. That is the same thing as human hair, fingernails and toenails.

Ms Molewa said 386 suspected poachers were arrested last year, an increase from the year before. But rhino protection workers say poachers often go unpunished after arrest. South Africa’s legal system is ineffective. Ms Molewa said more needs to be done and South Africa is taking strong measures to protect rhinos. The efforts include moving some of the animals to secret places in neighboring countries. “Now approximately 100 rhinos have been moved to neighboring states in the SADC region during 2014 and 200 more rhinos will be moved this year” Molewa said.

Jo Shaw, the rhino program manager at the WWF, said, “We’re talking about a loss of a hundred rhinos a month. Or more than three a day. We really need to see effective action not just at a national level but internationally.” She says officials should find the criminal groups responsible for the poaching and punish them. Government officials are to meet in Botswana in March at the Inter-governmental Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade.

12. What do we know about rhinos?

A. Half of the rhinos live in South Africa.

B. Less than 1, 000 rhinos were killed in 2013.

C. The killing reached the highest point in 2014.

D. There are only 20, 000 rhinos left in the world.

13. What is the main reason for people to hunt rhinos?

A. To get more keratin. B. To protect the farmland.[:]

C. To use them for decoration. D. To make money from horns.

14. Jo Shaw thinks that_________.

A. many criminal groups are well organized

B