广东省汕头金山中学2016届高三英语上学期期中试题

汕头市金山中学2015-2016年度高三第一学期期中考

英语

本试卷共三部分，共7页，满分135分（120×1.125）。考试时间120分钟。

注意事项：

1．答卷前，考生务必用黑色字迹的钢笔或签字笔填写答题卡上的班级、姓名和试室号、学号，用2B铅笔将学号对应的数字涂黑。

2．选择题每小题选出答案后，用2B铅笔把答题卡上对应题目选项的答案信息点涂黑，如需改动，用橡皮擦干净后，再选涂其他答案，答案不能答在试卷上。

第一部分: 阅读理解（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

In October 2010, I left my hometown and family in Virginia and moved to Iowa so I could be coached by Liang Chow. I'd been dreaming of an Olympic gold medal since I was eight — but gradually, that dream seemed like a million miles away.

On January 2, 2012, while Mom was visiting me in Iowa, I told her, “I don't like gymnastics anymore. I want to try dancing, or become a singer. I can get a job in Virginia.

I just want to come home.”

Mom's eyes narrowed and her expression turned to stone. “You're breaking my heart, Brie,” she said. “You've been doing gymnastics for ten years, and now you want to quit? Have you lost your mind?”

I hadn't lost my mind, but I had lost my fire. It's an entirely different thing to push toward that dream when you feel alone.

“I'm not trying to break your heart, Mom,” I said. “I just don't want to do it anymore.”

“I know you miss home. But you've signed a contract that says you will represe nt your country to the best of your ability. You've got a responsibility to your teammates. And now you just want to walk away? I will not let you be dishonorable. If you don't like gymnastics, then at the very least, you will finish the season.”

The next afternoon as I dragged myself into Chow's gym, I thought of the efforts Mom had made in order to pay for my training. I thought of my two sisters: Arielle, who gave up ballroom dancing, and Joyelle, who stopped ice skating so that our single mom could afford to keep me in gymnastics.

For now, here's what you need to know: Exactly 210 days before I ever attempted my first vault (跳跃) in the London Summer Olympics, my leap of faith came this close to ending in a crash of disaster.

1. The author wanted to give up gymnastics because _____.

A. she thought she loved music more

B. she was overcome with homesickness

C. an Olympic gold was beyond her reach

D. the training for the Olympics was too hard

2. We can infer from the passage that the author _____.

A. was born into an athletic family

B. realized her Olympic dream

C. changed her mind in the end

D. had a bad childhood

3. What would be the best title for the passage?

A. My leap of faith

B. A quitter

C. My mother

D. A dream come true

B

Long-time exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain and cause trouble in learning and memory, and even anxiety. This is suggested by the results of new research on mice.

While other studies have shown the harmful effects of polluted air in the lungs and heart, this is the first to show the negative effect on the brain.

The team of Laura Fonken, Randy Nelson, from the Ohio State University, USA, has spread to the brain a previous line of research which found that fine particulate (微粒) matter floating in the air mainly because of air pollution caused by humans, causes swelling in much of the body, and may be related to high blood pressure problems, and some other diseases.

In the research Fonken and his colleagues exposed mice to polluted air for six hours each day, five days a week, over a period of 10 months, almost half the average life length of mice.

Polluted air contains fine particles created by cars, factories and natural dust. Fine particles of this kind are tiny, about 2.5 micrometers in diameter, or about one-thirtieth the width of a human hair. These particles can go deep into lungs and other organs.

The concentration of this particulate material to which they exposed mice is equal to the concentration at which people can be exposed in some polluted urban areas.

After a period of 10 months, the researchers got the animals to have a series of behavioral tests. Both the behavior of mice and the results of neurological (神经的) tests done to them show that those within the polluted air had more problems in learning and memory, and higher levels of anxiety.

The results suggest that long-time exposure to polluted air can have measurable negative effects on the human brain and can cause a variety of mental health problems. This could have important consequences for those living and working in polluted urban areas. 4．The results of new research on mice first suggest that polluted air mainly does harm