2024年5月5日发(作者：)

2020-2021学年青海师范大学附属第二中学高三英语下学期期末考试

试题及答案

第一部分 阅读（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A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳选项

A

When the sun shines brightly, it provides a great chance to get outdoor things done. Like making hay! At least,

that is what farmers from the past would say. ―Make hay while the sun idiom is very old, dating back

to Medieval times. Rain would often ruin the process of making hay. So, farmers had no choice but to make hay

when the sun was shining.

Today, we all use this expression, not just farmers. When conditions are perfect to get something done, we

can say, ―It’s a good idea to make hay while the sun other words, you are taking advantage of a good

situation or of good conditions. You are making the most of your opportunities. These all mean ―making hay

while the sun shines.

And sometimes we use this expression to mean we beat someone to the punch, or we got ahead of someone

else. And other times you make hay while the sun shines to make good use of the chance to do something while it

lasts. You are being opportunistic – taking advantage of a good opportunity. For example, my friend Ozzy was

sick for a week and could not go to work. So, his co-worker Sarah -- who doesn’t like him -- took advantage of his

illness and stole his project! Talk about making hay while the sun shines.

Sometimes when you make hay while the sun shines you are staying ahead of a problem – like in this

example:

Hey, do you want to go hiking with me and my friends this weekend? The weather is going to be beautiful! I

wish I could. But I have to finish my taxes. It’s the last weekend before they’re due.

Oh, that’s too bad.

Wait. What about your taxes?

My taxes are done. I was off from work a couple of weeks ago and made hay while the sun shined. I got all of

it done!

I wish I would have taken advantage of my time off last week___1___All I did was lay around thehouse.

And that’s all the time we have for these Words and Their Stories. But join us again next week. You can listen

while you’re making dinner or riding to work. Yeah, make hay while the sun shines.

of the following best matches ―make hay whilethe sun shines in paragraph 2?

nothing, reap nothing. tools make good work.

while the iron is hot. swallow doesn’t make a summer.

ing to the underlined sentence, what feeling does the speaker express?

ble ful

d erent

is the passage probably taken from?

A.A radio program B.A magazine

C.A brochure D.A novel

B

The AI research arm of Alibaba created a machine learning model that received a higher score on the

Stanford Question Answering Dataset than humans. The database consists of more than 100,000 questions to test

reading comprehension.

In early January this year the Alibaba AI software machine scored 82.44 on the test while humans scored

82.304. Besides, computers and AI have already defeated humans, for example in games such as chess. However,

it seemed that language skills were superior in humans as machines find languages hard to master.

A large number of call center employees, often in developing countries, may be out of work soon if the AI

robots are cheaper and as effective as human labor. Soon when you phone a company for information the

conversation will go like this: “ We are sorry but all our robots are busy right now. We value your call. Please stay

on the line until a robot is free to serve you. There are just 12 callers ahead of you.” A robot will serve you some

popular tunes while you wait.

Si Luo, who is a chief scientist of natural language processing at Alibaba’s AI research group noted that

questions such as “What causes rain?” can now be answered with a high degree of accuracy by robots. Si Luo said,

“ We believe the foundational technology can be gradually applied to a lot of applications such as customer

service, museum tutorials, and online responses to inquiries from patients, freeing human efforts in a new way.”

Si Luo’s team is working closely with Ali Xiaomi, a mobile customer service chatbot. Ali Xiaomi can be

customized to be used on Alibaba’s platforms such as Taobao and Tmall. The new AI robots could answer

consumers’ questions as they did the Stanford questions. The robots would look for the answers from prepared

information. However, there are limits to what the system will be able to do. If questions do not have clear-cut

answers, or the questions asked are too unclear or ungrammatical, the robot may not be able to deal with them.

4. What can we learn about the Alibaba AI software machine?

A. It has been tested in some areas. B. It has become popular since January.

C. It has offered a special learning style. D. It has made people interested in reading.

5. What does the example in paragraph 3 show about the AI robots?

A. They should have better language skills.

B. They may replace humans in some fields.

C. They need to be customized to serve customers.

D. They will be widely used in developing countries.

6. How does Si Luo feel about the foundational technology?

A. Doubtful. B. Worried. C. Curious. D. Confident.

7. What can we infer from the lastparagraph about Ali Xiaomi?

A. It needs to improve in some ways. B. It is connected with another system.

C. It is a platform to show good service. D. It can answer any questions accordingly.

C

A North Atlantic right whale calf(幼崽) was discovered dead on the beach of an island off North Carolina. The

male newborn was found on North Core Banks, part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore. The reports indicate

that the animal died during birth or shortly after, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration(NOAA). Scientists took DNA to determine the calf’s mother.

This is the beginning of the right whale’s reproduction(繁殖) season, which begins mid-November and runs

through mid-April. NOAA called this death a disastrous start to the season. Each new right whale calf brings so

much hope for this badly endangered animals, and losses like this have a great impact on their recovery, NOAA

said.

The right whale is one of the rarest marine mammals(哺乳动物) in the world, according to NOAA. They will

soon be extinct unless something is done to save it, researchers warn. This kind of whale has been experiencing an

Unusual Death Event over the past three years, according to NOAA. Since 2017, at least 32 dead and 13 seriously

wounded whales have been documented by the organization. “This means more than 10 percent of the remaining

population,” according to NOAA.

NOAA posted a piece of news on Monday, the same day they announced the calf’s death, warning boaters to

be watchful as the whales are migrating(迁徙) nearly 1,000 miles along the Atlantic Coast. The organization calls

for boaters to be watchful, slow down and to give these endangered whales plenty of room. They also ask all

fishermen to remove their unused nets from the ocean to help avoid possibledamage.

8. Why did scientists take DNA of the calf?

A. To save its mother. B. To confirm its identity.

C. To determine the time of its death. D. To uncover the cause of its death.

9. How many right whales are left according to the passage?

A. About 40. B. About 50.

C. About 400. D. About 500.

10. What do we know aboutNorth Atlanticright whales?

A. Their reproduction season usually last about half a year.

B. They are the rarest marine mammals in the world.

C. They are experiencing a high death rate of newborns.

D. Their habitat runs nearly 1,000 miles along the coast.

11. What’s the main purpose of the news posted on Monday?

A. To announce the calf’s unusual death.

B. To remind boaters to watch the whales.

C. To protect the boats against the whales.

D. To assist the whales’ seasonal migration.

D

Salad plants have already been grown in old sheltersand tunnels. Urban farming is a regular topic of interest

at places like the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where leaders consider whether the world's food system,

blamed for causing both obesity and malnutrition, can be fixed. There are already plenty of urban farming projects

around the world, particularly in the US, Japan and the Netherlands, from urban fish and plant farms to vertical

farming.

“It's becoming an expanding industry,” said Richard Ballard, one of the founders of the farm Growing

Underground. “There're several other businesses starting up in London in containers, and there are other vertical

farms around the country now.”

Growing Underground is not a standard farm. The rows of crops could be in almost any tunnel, but these

plants are 100 feet below Clapham High Street and show that urban agriculture is, in some cases at least, nota fad.

The underground farm has occupied a part of the Second World War air-raid shelters for nearly five years, and

Ballard is planning to expand into the rest of the space later this year.

Growing Underground supplies herb and salad mixes to grocery shops, supermarkets and restaurants. Being

in London creates an advantage, Ballard says, as they can harvest and deliver in an hour.

He adds other advantages. Being underground means temperatures never go below 15℃surface greenhouses

need to be heated. They can do more harvests: 60 crops a year, compared with about seven in a traditional farm.

Electricity to power the lights is a major cost, but the company believes renewable energy will become cheaper.

Similar British companies include the Jones Food Company in Lincolnshire, while in the US AeroFarms has

several projects in New Jersey, and Edenworks in Brooklyn.

12. What do we know about urban farming?

A. It leads to a healthier lifestyle. B. It is rarely discussed at the WEF.

C. Different farming methods are used. D. Local governments pay efforts to develop it.

13. Which of the following best explains "a fad" underlined in Paragraph 3?

A. A dream that's easy to realize. B. A field controlled for a long time.

C. An approach to a serious problem. D. A fashion that’s popular for a short time.

14. What can we learn about the underground farm?

A. It is more productive than a traditional farm. B. It provides food directly to the customers.

C. Its major products are herbs and salads. D. It uses less energy than a greenhouse.

15. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Current food system causes health problems

B. Growing Underground attracts more people

C. Traditional farming will be replaced soon

D. Urban farming isstill thought costly and time-consuming

第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项

There's no such thing as being born “good at languages”. However, there are people who learn languages well,

but that has nothingto do with them being naturally good at it.___16___

Good language learners are actively involved in their learning do not expect to learn English

only by sitting in the classroom.___17___They are organized and active. They look for creative ways both inside

and outside the classroom to try out what they have learned.

Good language learners knows that language is used to pay attention to meaning. They

have good techniques to practice listening, speaking, reading and writing. They push themselves to speak and try