(安徽省芜湖一中2008年高三5月最后一模)

假如你准备参加《中国日报》组织的题为“Nothing Is Small”的中学生英语短文比赛。比赛要求简要描述下列三幅画的内容，并陈述你从画中悟出的道理。

参考生词：1．道钉：rail spike          2．烟头：butt

          3．管涌：tube fountain    4．灾难：disaster

注    意：1．短文应包括图中提供的信息，可适当发挥，行文连贯、完整。

2．字数：120左右。

 (安徽省芜湖一中2008年高三5月最后一模)

A professor was invited to speak to a group of business students. As he  36  in front of the students, he pulled out a jar and  37  it on the table. Then he carefully placed some fist-sized   38  , one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would  39  inside, he asked, “Is this jar  40  ?”

Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”

“  41  ?” He reached under the table, pulled out a bag of gravel (石子) and dumped some gravel in and  42   the jar to fill up the spaces between the rocks. Then he asked the class, “Is the jar full?”

“  43  not, ” one of them answered.

“Good!” he replied. He  44  under the table and brought out a bag of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it  45  all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.   46   he asked the class, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted.

He said, “Good!” Then he grabbed (抓) a big  47  full of water and began to  48

  water in until the jar was filled to the top. Then the speaker said to the class, “The  49   this illustration (示例) teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in  50  , you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your  51  ? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your dreams? A worth cause?   52   to put the BIG ROCKS in first  53   you’ll never get them in at all.”

      54  , tonight or in the morning when you are  55  of this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the “big rocks” in my life or business? Then, put those in your jar first.

36．A．spoke                     B．stood                   C．taught                     D．sat

37．A．lay                         B．broke                   C．covered                  D．set

38．A．apples                     B．oranges                   C．bricks                     D．rocks

39．A．fit                          B．match                     C．fill                          D．contain

40．A．valuable                  B．full                         C．heavy                     D．large

41．A．Exactly                   B．Actually                  C．Truly                   D．Really

42．A．lifted                   B．pressed                   C．shook                     D．tapped

43．A．Probably                 B．Absolutely        C．Certainly              D．Nearly

44．A．searched                 B．reached                   C．felt                         D．watched

45．A．came into             B．turned into              C．went into             D．flowed into

46．A．Now and again     B．Time and again     C．Once before            D．Once more

47．A．box                        B．basket                     C．glass                   D．bag

48．A．pour                       B．fall                         C．drop                       D．put

49．A．experience              B．truth                    C．knowledge              D．idea

50．A．quickly                   B．finally                     C．first                     D．ahead

51．A．community             B．future                     C．district                    D．life

52．A．Try                        B．Learn                   C．Remember              D．Wait

53．A．or                          B．and                         C．yet                         D．because

54．A．Instead                   B．So                          C．As a result                  D．As usual

55．A．thinking                  B．hearing                   C．talking                    D．saying

 (安徽省芜湖一中2008年高三5月最后一模D篇)

A 13-year-old Chinese girl, Fan Yi (Nancy), who had her primary education in the US, recently published her first fairy tale, Swordbird. The fairy tale written in English has appeared on the children’s fiction bestseller list in the US, the Shanghai Evening Post reported.

Fan Yi was greatly interested in observing birds ever since she was a little girl. In Hamilton, New York, where she lives, she often watches kingfishers and woodpeckers flying over her house from the small woods nearby. The inspiration for writing the book Swordbird actually came from one of her dreams. At that time, she was studying American history in school and happened to read many articles in magazines about the 9.11 terrorist(恐怖分子) attacks. One day, she had a dream in which some rosefinches and bluejays were controlled by some black birds and began to fight with each other. When she woke up, she decided to turn her dream into a story and to convey her message of peace to the public.

In order to get her book published in China, Fan translated the entire English version into Chinese.

“It is a learning process. Since I didn’t know many Chinese idioms, I had to get help from my mom and dad from time to time. For another thing, a lot of poems in the original story are written in rhyme, so when I translated them into Chinese, I wanted to make sure that they were in rhyme, too.” she said.

Fan Yi was born in Beijing in 1993. She stayed in Beijing until she finished her first grade of primary school. Then she moved with her parents to the United States when she was seven. Two years later, she started to write her English story.

In March this year, the book was published by HarperCollins Publishers. It was selected as the week’s bestseller of children’s fiction by the New York Times soon after it was published.

Fan Yi has said she will write more books in the future. It is expected that the sequel(续篇) to Swordbird will come out next year.

68．The underlined words “rosefinches” and “bluejays” in Paragraph 2 probably refer to       .

A．creatures from outer space                         

B．different kinds of birds

C．different kinds of planes                             

D．people from different races

69．Fan Yi’s book was related to the 9.11 terrorist attacks because        .

A．it was being written when the attacks happened

B．it expressed her desire for peace and an end to terrorism

C．they both involved fighting in the air

D．the attacks were mentioned in her book

70．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Swordbird is an English adventure story.

B．One of her dreams made her begin to write Swordbird.

C．Swordbird only has an English version.

D．Swordbird is an excellent adult fiction.

71．What can we learn about Fan Yi from the passage?

A．She’s beliveed to be writing more bird stories.

B．Her Chinese version of Swordbird has been published in China.

C．She is learning how to write English poems from her parents.

D．She’s likely to become a full-time writer.

 (安徽省芜湖一中2008年高三5月最后一模E篇)

China is going green. In order to reduce air pollution and oil-shortages, automobile manufacturers have announced their plans to develop hybrid vehicles(混合燃料汽车) for the Chinese market. Toyota’s hybrid car Prius will be ready to drive in China this week. Let’s have a look at the new car.

Any vehicle is hybrid when it combines two or more sources of power. Hybrid cars run off a rechargeable battery(电池) and gasoline(汽油). Hybrid cars have special engines, which are smaller than traditional gasoline engines. They run at 99 percent of their power when the car is cruising(巡航). A specially designed battery motor provides extra power for running up hills or when extra acceleration(加速) is needed.

Step into a Prius, and turn on the engine. The first thing you notice is how much quieter it is than a traditional car. At this point, the car’s gasoline engine is dormant(休眠). The electric motor will provide power until the car reaches about 24 km/h. If you stay at a low speed, you are effectively driving an electric car, with no gasoline being used, and no waste gas gives off.

The onboard(车载的) computer makes the decision about when to use a gas engine, when to go electric, and when to use a combination of the two. If you go over 24 km/h, when you step on the gas pedal(油门), you are actually telling the computer how fast you want to go.

The electronic motor recharges automatically using a set of batteries. When driving at high speed, the gasoline engine not only powers the car, but also charges the batteries. Any time you use the brake, the electric motor in the wheels will work like a generator(发电机) and produce electricity to recharge the batteries. As a consequence, the car’s batteries will last for around 200,000 miles.

72．The author writes this passage mainly to        .

A．teach people how to drive a hybrid car         

B．introduce a new kind of “green”car

C．show how to save their gasoline when driving a car

D．announce plans to develop hybrid vehicles for China

73．The first sentence probably refers to        .

A．there will be more and more green land in China

B．China is still young and lacking experience

C．China’s new cars are combinations of different green models

D．China has started producing environmentally friendly cars

74．Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The hybrid cars reduce air pollution and oil-shortages.

B．The car’s gasoline engine doesn’t work until it reaches about 24 km/h.

C．This kind of car is completely controlled by an onboard computer.

D．A specially designed battery motor provides extra power when needed.

75．What is the most important feature of hybrid cars?

A．They are powered by both a rechargeable battery and gasoline.

B．They are much quieter than traditional cars.

C．They only use 99 percent of their power to run up hills.

D．They have smaller engines than traditional gasoline ones.

 (安徽省芜湖一中2008年高三5月最后一模B篇)

Success Is Not a Destination(目的地)

Should people stop once they have achieved something? No! In life, they are always trying to make things better or have more of the same success.

Athletes are constantly striving(努力) to shorten time for races, increase heights or distances.

The world of medicine has had its series of successes, too. Christian Barnard performed several successful heart transplants. Other medical experts have achieved organ transplants. Throughout the ages, mankind has found treatments and cures for cancer and other diseases. A cure for AIDS might soon be disvovered.

Age does not seem to slow down achievers. Tina Tuner at 54 is still singing in abundance(丰富) and attracting sell-out crowds wherever she goes.

Comedian George Burns, in his 90s, wants to perform at Caesar’s Palace when he turns 100.

Success does not belong only to the rich and famous. It should be the goal of everyone. Many successful people have had humble beginnings.

Would you believe that actress Michelle Pfeifer of Cat was a supermarket checkout girl?

At work, we strive for achievement, too. Success may mean organizing a conference more effectively and efficiently each year. Sometimes, it is not a pat on the back or the promotion that makes it worthwhile.

Often, it is the inner thrill(一阵激动) and satisfaction of achievement, no matter how small it may be.

Aiming for success doesn’t mean you are greedy or dissatisfied. It is all part of gaining new experiences. It ultimately(最终) makes you a more interesting and useful person in society.

The journey to success has its road blocks, discouragement and distractions. It takes great resourcefulness and achievement to overcome obstacles and setbacks to move on successfully.

60．If an athlete can shorten time in races, he/she        .

A．is a real success                                         B．will stop his/her steps forward

C．is always sure to win                                  D．is the best runner of all

61．The expression “a pat on the back” probably means “       ”.

A．patting somebody on the back                      B．something important

C．singing somebody’s praises                          D．anything important

62．Which statement below is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Man now can transplant organs.                   B．Man now can cure AIDS.

C．Not all successful people have humble beginnings.

D．Michelle was once a supermarket checkout girl.

63．The writer of the passage agrees to all the ideas EXCEPT that       .

A．any small success will make us excited        

B．organizing a conference is a success

C．aiming for success is to gain new experiences in life

D．the journey to success is not so smooth to make