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题型:阅读表达 题类:常考题 难易度:困难

天津市南开区2020-2021学年高三上学期英语期末考试试卷

阅读下面短文,按照要求用英语回答问题。

    GRAMMY award-winning blues harmonica (口琴) player Sugar Blue made his first China performance in December 2017. Chinese audiences were amazed by his stormy playing of the harmonica.

    Born on December 16, 1949 in New York, Sugar Blue is a great singer and composer. Sugar Blue's love for music comes from his mother. Till today, he still vividly remembers the first time his mother took him to the Apollo Theater to see Stevie Wonder, a music genius. The way Wonder played the harmonica onstage greatly impressed Sugar Blue and made him even more determined to spend his life working on his musical dream.

    Sugar Blue's musical career has been quite smooth, in which New York City plays an integral part. At that time, the musical atmosphere in New York was very diverse, jazz, blues, pop, rock, etc.

    He tries to pour everything that he feels about a song into it. His inspiration comes from people and the things that he comes across in his daily life, involving personal relationships, love, work, and daily struggles. In his eyes, you can write about the wonderful things that happen to you and you can also write about things that are not so good. He also draws inspiration from literature. Besides poetry, Zora Neale Hurston's book also influenced him a lot, which is in his eyes "poetry from the first word to the last."

    Among the cities he has been to, Shanghai is his favorite." In Shanghai, there's rock and roll, jazz, hip-hop, traditional Chinese music. I had a wonderful experience." he said." The city itself is full of life and energy."

    In his new album, Sugar Blue writes a song about Shanghai to show his special love of it. The song features well-known Chinese sheng musician's playing. Sugar Blue loves this song and highly values such cooperation with Chinese musicians.

(1)、How did Stevie Wonder influence Sugar Blue? (No more than 10 words)
(2)、Please explain the underlined words "integral" in English. (No more than 1 words)
(3)、Where does Sugar Blue's inspiration come from? (No more than 15 words)
(4)、What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? (No more than 10 words)
(5)、What do you think is the most important reason for Sugar Blue's success? Please explain. (No more than 20 words)
举一反三
阅读理解

    Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father's wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.

     “Dad will be really mad if he finds out you've been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not  to touch it.”

     “He won't find out,” Mark said, “I'll just have a quick look and shut it down.”

    Mark had been scolded before for touching his father's equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.

It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It's an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don't touch it under any circumstances.” But his father's warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”

     “Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It's a computer game. I knew it! Dad's only been pretending to work. He's really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:

“ENTER NAMES

VOYAGE 1

VOYAGE 2

    Mark's finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.

“INPUT ACCEPTED.

START TRANSPORT PROGRAM.

AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED( 自动回收程序已启动).”

    The screen turn even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.

     “I think we'd better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒),until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed:

“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL.

DESTINATION:  MARS.

RETRIEVE DATE:  2025

阅读理解

    In the early times,the music industry was terrified of taping,thinking that customers would just copy music,or record from the radio.But that never really happened,at least not enough to cause any real hardship to anyone in the music business.

    The same argument arose over technologies like miniDisc and recordable CDs.But the thing that terrified the music industry more than anything else was the arrival of services like Napster,which allowed people to share music over the Internet without costing them anything.The music industry was shocked: it saw people exchanging digital copies that didn't degrade(降级)with each transfer,something that kept tapes from being a huge threat.

    But it wasn't the Internet that killed the music industry.In fact,everything is still looking optimistic for many musicians.Taylor Swift has had a good year,and her latest album is likely to be making her very wealthy indeed.And that won't change in all likelihood,not for Swift,and not for those who come after her.There is always going to be public demand for music.

    However,the technology will simply destroy the record company.The reason is simple.Record companies are a man in the middle that simply doesn't need to exist anymore.The same way we buy our flights directly did get our shopping online and have things delivered from Amazon instead of going to a local shop.We have always been willing to enjoy cost reductions at the expense of the middleman and the record companies are that kind of middleman.

    What does the record industry offer?Well,surprisingly little these days.It used to be the case that record companies would go and find new talents.Of course this still happens,but more likely is that an artist will be discovered by the public through YouTube,or even from friends on Facebook or Twitter.Record companies also used to have an important role in producing the music.But countless artists are making their own way through software or any of the other amazing music development apps,without any help from the record companies.

阅读理解

    A drug that is used to treat serious bleeding could save thousands of lives of mothers giving birth. A world test of the drug found it reduced (降低) the risk of bleeding deaths during childbirth by nearly one third. The study included 20,000 women in 21 countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. The test was carried out by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The drug is called tranexamic acid (凝血酸). It is low-cost and researchers said it does not cause serious side effects (副作用) for mothers or babies.

    The drug is used to treat mothers for serious bleeding during childbirth. Postpartum hemorrhage (产后出血) is the main cause of mothers' death around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

    Haleema Shakur is the project director for the test. She said though medical condition is improved in many countries, serious bleeding after childbirth remains a big problem in some parts of the world. “It's one of the biggest killers of mothers. In Africa and Asia, about 10% of women will end up with serious bleeding.” The drug works after a mother gives birth.

    Shakur said the best results were reported when the drug was given to women as soon as possible after childbirth. “The earlier you give it — within the first three hours after giving birth — the better the result is.”

    The next step will be to provide training for doctors and nurses on how to use it and then to find where the drug is needed. During the test, women were given the drug in a hospital. But researchers are looking for easier ways to use the drug so it can be more widely used in small clinics and the countryside.

阅读理解

                                       Cell phones:Is there a cancer link?

    Could your cell phone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, power lines and Wi-Fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.

    Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the university at Albany, in New York, thinks there's a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia (白血病). Also there's a greater than 90 percent chance that cell phones can cause brain tumors. “It's apparent now that there's a real risk, ”said Carpenter.

    But others believe these concerns are not justified. Dr Martha Linet, head of radiation epidemiology (流行病学) at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don't support warning labels for cell phones, ”said Linet. “We don't have the evidence that there's much danger.”

    Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs (电磁场) and illness—so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cell phones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It's funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cell phone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don't suggest a strong link between cell phone use and cancer risk.

阅读理解

    The last time I visited my eighty­three­year­old mother­in­law, I asked how she was feeling. It's a valid question. She has, after all, had two knee replacements and a liver transplant. She moves slowly to avoid another fall.

    But she hasn't stopped moving. She and my father­in­law attended their first Jimmy Buffet concert this summer. Here's the thing about my in­laws: They never say no to an invitation or a new adventure. If they can make it work, they're willing to try just about anything. When we need them to come to stay with the kids, we have to get on their calendars far in advance.

When asked how she was feeling, my motherinlaw responded, "Well, everything hurts every day. But you know what I've discovered? It doesn't hurt to smile. So that's what I've decided to do... smile at everyone I see. I may not be able to do all the things I used to do, but I can at least brighten someone's day."

    It is such simple wisdom. Moving the focus from what we don't have and from what we've lost to what we can offer others is the difference between living in the dark and radiating light. They inspire us daily.

    The key to a life worth living, I think, is to change our views. You don't have to make great changes. Sometimes change looks similar to everyday kindness. Sometimes change begins with holding the door for a mother with an armful of groceries.

    In theory, the butterfly effect says that the smallest breeze(微风) from a butterfly's wing can change the path of a hurricane halfway. Imagine, then, the possibilities that exist within a single smile.

阅读理解

    Depression and suicidal thoughts have doubled in young Americans, according to a new study from the American Psychological Association.

    Likely triggers? Cell phones and social media.

    "More US adolescents and young adults in the late 2010s, vs the mid-2000s, experienced serious psychological distress, major depression and more attempted suicide (自杀)", says lead researcher Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University. "These trends are weak or non-existent among adults 26 years and over, suggesting a generational shift in mood disorders instead of an overall increase across all ages."

    Twenge believes this trend is partially due to the explosion of digital culture over the past decade, which may have twisted modes of social interaction enough to affect mood disorders.

    The study analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which tracked drug and alcohol use and mental health issues in more than 200,000 youths aged 12 to 17 from 2005 to 2017 and almost 400,000 adults from 2008 to 2017.

    Major depression in the last 12 months increased by 52 percent in kids from 2005 to 2017 and 63 percent in young adults aged 18 to 25 from 2009 to 2017. There was also a 71 percent jump in young adults experiencing serious psychological distress in the previous 30 days from 2008 to 2017.

    So what's so different now? Twenge says research shows young people just aren't getting as much shuteye as they did in previous generations.

    Whereas older Americans might have established more stability in their lives, sleep-disrupting social stressors are likely at their peak for teens and young adults in this digital era, she says. Older adults are also less likely to let devices interfere (干预) with sleep.

    These results suggest a need for more research to understand how digital communication versus face-to-face social interaction influences mood disorders and to develop specialized interventions for younger age groups.

    Her suggestion? Put your phone down at least an hour before bedtime.

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