第二学期高一英语期中试卷题

　　Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33,000 years ago. 4,000 years ago Mesoamerican (中美洲)farmers developed corn in a feat (技艺) of genetic engineering that still isn’t completely understood.

　　COMMENTS ON 1491

　　“In the tradition of Jared Diamond & John MePhee, a totally new view of pre-Columbian America”.

　　-Richard Rhodes

　　“Attractively written and really absorbing, Charles C.Mann has produced a book that’s part detective story, part epic(史诗) and part tragedy(悲剧). He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures.”

　　-Charles Matthews,San Jese Mercary News

　　“Powerful and challenging”

　　-Alan Taylor,Washingto post

　　“A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education”

　　-Howard Zinn

　　21. On the whole,1491 is a book mainly about America’s________.

　　A. population B. life-styles C. agriculture D. history

　　22. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the comments on the book 1491?

　　A. It is interesting and instructive. B. It is attractive and culturally related.

　　C. It is challenging and revolutionary. D. It is humorous and persuasive

　　23. From this passage, we can learn_________.

　　A. North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the world

　　B. people settled in the America a little earlier than 1492

　　C. Mesoamencan farmers knew genetic engineering 5,000 years ago

　　D. the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492

　　B

　　The iPhone, the iPad: each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad(一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” –-- and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer --- which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet ---used the title in 2008. A lovely bear --- popular in the US and UK --- th at plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version(简装本) of London’s Independent newspaper was started last week under the name “i”.

　　In general, single-letter prefixes(前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce(电子商务) first came into use.

　　Most “i” products are targeted at (针对)young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.

　　But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition(定义),” he says.

　　“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now connected with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.

　　Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.

　　Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade(十年).

　　But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was connected with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the fashion disappeared.

　　24. We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is designed for _________.

　　A. old readers B. young readers

　　C. fashionable women D. engineers

　　25. The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.

　　A. popular B. clear C. uncertain D. unique

　　26. Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.

　　A. po rtable B. environmentally friendly C. advanced D. recyclable

　　27. The writer suggests that __________.

　　A. “i” products are often of high quality

　　B. iTeddy is alive bear

　　C. the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products

　　D. the popularity of “i” products may not last long

　　C

　　The average American child spends three to five hours a day watching TV. In 1961, the average child began to watch television at age three; however, today it is nine months. Yet, most parents think that television has bad influence on their children. For example, in the early 1970s, my parents believed that my bad eyesight was the result of sitting too close to the screen, and they therefore made my stay at least six feet from it. Today, most people have no such worry, but many new ridiculous (荒谬的) sayings have appeared:

　　TV makes kids stupid. Many children watch more educational programs when they are pre-schoolers. When they grow up, they can read more books and have much better ideas to solve difficult problems than other children.

　　TV makes kids violent. The real story is not so simple. Hundreds of studies show that watching violence on TV makes children more aggressive (好斗的). But a study of over 5,000 children also finds that some positive programs make children kinder. The problem is that kids are increasingly watching shows with violence instead of those suitable for their age.

　　Sitting around watching TV makes kids overweight. An experiment finds that when children watch less television, they do lose extra weight; however, redu cing their television time does not make them more active. The real problem lies in snacking (吃零食), a widespread habit for kids, and junk-food advertisements.

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