常州市联盟学校2023—2024学年度第二学期期中调研
高二年级英语试卷
2024.4
考试时间120分钟 满分150分
第一部分 听力(共两节，满分30分)
第二部分 阅读(共两节，满分50分)
第一节(共15小题;每小题2.5分，满分37.5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
Mother Nature never fails to surprise us with something extraordinary and unusual from time to time. There will always be news about something completely different that will surely grab eyeballs.
Blood Falls (Antarctica)
As the name suggests, Blood Falls is a waterfall which shoots blood-red water into a river. The sight is a perfect backdrop for a horror film; mysterious and of course bloody. Previously, red algae (红藻) were believed to cause the water to change its colour and turn blood-red. Until 2017, the true origin of the so-called blood was revealed to be oxidized iron in saltwater.
Frozen Bubbles (Canada)
Impressive yet a dangerous sight, frozen bubbles (气泡) can be seen in winters at Abraham Lake in Canada. The phenomenon occurs when methane (甲烷) gas gets trapped underwater, freezes, and forms other-worldly visuals. Such a large amount of methane trapped is highly risky. So even a lit match nearby can cause a giant explosion.
Hidden Beach (Mexico)
Located only a few miles off Mexico’s coast, the hidden beach was caused by an explosion by the Mexican Government as part of target practice. The beach is now every lover’s dream destination. To get there, you must ride an hour-long boat. Once you land on the island, you have to travel through the waters to reach there.
Sky Mirror (Malaysia)
During the new moon and full moon periods, tourist can see a clear reflection of the sky in the waters of Sasaran Beach. This natural phenomenon occurs because the tides are the lowest during these days. The smooth sand and minimal water level create such an incredible sight. Also known as the “Mirror of the Sky”, this shallow water beach is an amazing place to click pictures and thus a perfect travel destination.
21. Why is the water shot by Blood Falls blood-red?
A. Saltwater there contains oxidized iron.
B. The waterfall has supernatural powers.
C. Red algae causes the water to change its color.
D. A film factory reddened the water for a horror scene.
22. In which situation may you be warned to avoid fire?
A. Admiring Blood Falls. B. Exploring Frozen Bubbles.
C. Boating along Hidden Beach. D. Taking pictures against Sky Mirror.
23. What do these natural phenomena have in common?
A. They can be accessible only by water.
B. They attract millions of tourists across the world.
C. The causes of their formation have been revealed.
D. Tourists may enjoy a better travelling experience in winter.
B
In 1975, a San Diego homemaker named Marjorie Rice came across a column in Scientific American about tiling (瓷砖). There is a problem which has interested mathematicians since ancient Greek times. After Rice’s chance encounter with tiling, family members often saw her in the kitchen constantly drawing shapes. “I thought she was just drawing casually,” her daughter Kathy said. But Rice who took only one year of math in high school, was actually discovering never-before-seen patterns.
Born in Florida, she loved learning and particularly her brief exposure to math, but tight budget and social culture prevented her family from even considering that she might attend college. “For Rice, math was a pleasure,” her son David once said.
Rice gave one of her sons a subscription to Scientific American partly because she could read it carefully while the children were at school. When she read Gardner’s column about tiling as she later recalled in an interview: “I thought it must be wonderful that someone could discover these beautiful patterns which no one had seen before.” She also wrote in an essay, “My interest was engaged by the subject and I wanted to understand every detail of it. Lacking a mathematical background, I developed my own symbol system and in a few months discovered a new type.”
