【2014年江苏省无锡市中考】
阅读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容，在每小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Hawaii is a truly beautiful place. Most people know Hawaii for its lovely beaches. However, Hawaii is also a land full of legends(传奇). One of the oldest legends tells of a special dance called the hula, which started here around 300 years ago.
One hula teacher tells the story of how the dance started. “The hula started, as far as the legend tells it, when Hi’iaki and her good friend Hopoe went down to the beach. And then, when they were there, they noticed the waves(波浪)…and they imitated the waves. And then started to use their hands…like showing the waves.That is how the hula started.”
However,not everyone has always liked the hula.In 1820,some religious(宗教的) people from Western countries came to Hawaii.The visitors were shocked by the hula because the dancers were not wearing many clothes.So they asked the local government to ban(制止) the dance.
After that,most Hawaiians were not allowed to perform the hula in public for almost 60 years.But that did not mean the dancing stopping.Many dances still performed the hula in secret.The dance was always there.
Things have changed.At the moment,people of all ages want to study the old culture.They want to learn how to dance the hula.As a result,more and more people are attending halaus. Halaus are special schools that hula in the traditional way.
Kumano is a hula teacher. For him, the dance is a way to bring the best of old Hawaii culture to people today. Kumano says that the dance is not really about the body.He feels that it is more about the mind.He explains this feelings,”…the hula is more… not so much a physical thing,but more of a mental thing.For new dances,the dancing means very little,because for Hawaiians today,many of them don’t speak the Hawaiian language. So,what I try to do is to mind the real thing they see today.”Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word”imitated”in this passage?”
| A．Absorbed | B．Chased. | C．Recorded. | D．Copied. |
Why was the hula banned for almost 60 years?
| A．Because the local government found the movements of the dance were rude. |
| B．Because the religious visitors thought that the dances did not dress properly. |
| C．Because the dances realized it was not suitable to perform the dance in public. |
| D．Because the Hawaiian people believed the dance was not in fashion any more. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Hi iaki and her good friend Hopoe got the idea of the dance from nature. |
| B．The hula had already had a history had a history of over 200 years when it was banned. |
| C．Many people attend hulaus because they teach the hula in a modern way. |
| D．Kumano thinks that the hula dance is good exercise for people of all ages. |
How do we understand that Kumano tries to bring to mind the real thing they today?
| A．He tries to help young Hawaiian understand the old culture better. |
| B．He tries to let new dances feel the beauty of the Hawaiian language. |
| C．He tries to advise his students to pay more attention to the mind. |
| D．He tries to show local people that the hula can be different today. |
It’s necessary to discover what you are good at or not and what you like or dislike.
Many students would be unhappy if they f________ in a very difficult physics course, but in fact they have known a lot about t_________
They realize that they should not become engineers or p___________
scientists in the future. So falling can help a student to live a happier life if he or she draws something out of it. They may then decide on their aim and c__________
the kind of work that they would be fit for and they would like to do.
You can’t be sure whether you like something u_________ you have tried it. If you make a d_________
that you would like to play the violin, you need to take more music classes b________
you know if you are really interested in it.
It is not e________ to hope to be a violinist. You also have to stand the hard practice before you become one. If you would enjoy being a great violinist, but hate the hard and b_________
work, just give it up.
It’s a good plan to try as many ideas as possible when you are still young. And then you will be able to find o_________ what your true interests are.
How do students spend their spare time after finishing their homework? Watch TV, play computer games, or go outside to relax? Here’s a good example.
Tim and Kerry Meek are both teachers. They live in the UK with their two daughters: eleven-year-old Amy and nine-year-old Ella. Recently, the Meek family has become the focus of the whole country after they completed 100 different outdoor activities in one year.
The Meek couple didn’t want their children to spend all their free time in front of the TV and become “couch potatoes”. So about one year ago, the Meeks decided that watching TV and playing computer games were not permitted . Instead, they set 100 tasks for the two girls to do outside. Although Mr. and Mrs. Meek are not outdoor activity fans, they took part in all the activities to encourage their daughters. It turns out that the two sisters really had a good time joining activities.
Every holiday and weekend, whether it’s sunny, rainy or snowy, the Meeks’ would set off to try the activities on their list, including hiking, sailing, climbing , skiing, and so on. The two little girls not only had a wonderful time, but also learned a lot of skills from the activities. They were even able to stand up in front of their school to give a talk for charity. “Our friends spend a lot of their free time doing things which are harmful to their health. Luckily, we’ve had the chance to experience something different.” Amy and Ella also helped their parents to draw up a new list of challenges for the next 12 months.请用中文出现的词语将下列句子补充完整，使句子意思连贯。
As a student, you should do more outdoor exercises in order not to__________________.Why did the Meeks become the focus of the UK?
_______________________________________________________________________________When did the Meeks go out to do the activities?
_______________________________________________________________________________请将稳中划线句子翻译成汉语。
_______________________________________________________________________________Please tell us what you have learned from this passage with two sentences in your own words.
_______________________________________________________________________________
New changes have taken place in Paris in recent years. Paris used to be among Europe’s busiest cities. Traffic jams could be seen all the time. But now there is a new 2.5 kilometre-long car-free area inside the city. The Louvre(卢浮宫) attracts world tourists. People visit there not just for the art works, but also enjoy the roof of the building which is like a flying carpet. The world’s most beautiful city is now even more beautiful.
Lijiang River National Park, China.
Lijiang River is in Guilin. It is well-known for its clear water, limestone(石灰岩洞) and green hills. The hills have beautiful names depending on different shapes, such as “Elephant Trunk”. These attract many Chinese poets and artists. The best way to enjoy Lijing River is to take an 83 km boat trip from Guilin to Yangshuo in summer.
Zurich, Switzerland
What do you think Zurich is famous for? Great banks? Yes. People can find many Swiss banks and foreign banks here. But the city is of great interest to many people for another reason. Zurich hosts Europe’s largest street party each year. Its Street Parade has overtaken London’s Notting Hill Carival. What’s hot in the city in 2014? In August, Zurich will host the European Athletic Championships. This gives tourists a chance to see the world’s top athletes making new records.
Adelaide, Australia
Many people may know Sydney or Melbourne. They are big cities in Australia. But Adelaide wins people’s hearts with great festivals and tasty food. Adelaide Fringe Festival is the largest art festival in Australia. Every February and March, people celebrate with outdoor art works, dance performances and live music. Adelaide has many kinds of foreign foods. British fish and chips, Italian pizza and German pork can be found in most restaurants.Tourists enjoy the art works as well as _______of the Louvre.
| A．the busy street | B．the shape of its roof |
| C．the car-free area | D．the flying carpet |
Many Chinese poets and artists are attracted by________ in Guilin.
| A．elephant trunks | B．warm weather |
| C．the highway to Yangshuo | D．the green hills and limestone caves |
Compared with London’s Notting Hill Carnival, the Street Parade in Zurich is _______.
| A．even worse | B．exactly the same | C．much better | D．less popular |
When and where will the 2014European Athletics Championships be held?
| A．In August, Paris | B．In February, Europe |
| C．In March, Adelaide | D．In August, Zurich |
Betty is studying art at college. She’s travelling to some place to enjoy art work and taste foreign foods. She could go to_____
| A．Adelaide | B．Lijiang River National Park |
| C．Zurich and Paris | D．the Louvre |
Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and 1200 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.
Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly self-educated. He started experimenting at a young age.
When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train. He did experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of his time in experimenting his first patent(专利权) in 1868 for a vote recorder run by electricity.
Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more time for work. He always worked 16 out of every 24hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of life all over the world.How often did Edison make a new invention?
| A．About every fourteen days | B．About every seven days |
| C．About once a week | D．About twice a week |
The underlined word “fired” in the passage means “__________”
| A．Gave somebody a job | B．Set fire to somebody |
| C．Let somebody down | D．Forced somebody to leave his job |
Edison considered his deafness as______.
| A．something bad | B．a gift from god | C．a kind of ability | D．a disadvantage |
which of the following sentence is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Edison had only 8 hours rest each day after his deafness |
| B．Edison got his education mostly by self-teaching |
| C．Edison had his first job in 1869 |
| D．Edison’s inventions greatly improved the quality of people’s life |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The function of the electric light | B．Edison and his experiments |
| C．The importance of inventions | D．The whole life of Edison. |
On the first day of school our teacher introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a little old lady with a warm smile. She said, “Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.”
“Why are you in university at such a YOUNG age?” I asked. She replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids, and then retire and travel.”
I knew she was joking. I was curious(好奇) what might have encouraged her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“I always dreamed of having a university education and now I’m getting one!” she told me. We became friends. Every day we would talk nonstop after class. I always enjoyed listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom(智慧) and experience with me. And Rose easily made friends wherever she went.
At the end of the term we invited Rose to make a little speech. She cleared her throat and began, “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. I’ve learned a few secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.”
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change...” When the author and Rose first met, they began their conversation in a ________ manner.
| A．polite | B．impolite | C．serious | D．humorous |
Rose went to the university in order to _______.
| A．meet a rich husband | B．make new friends |
| C．get a better job | D．get a university education |
The author considered Rose as a “time machine” because ________.
| A．she always came to class on time |
| B．she made friends easily at university |
| C．she enjoyed a long life and had lots of wisdom and experience |
| D．she knew the difference between growing older and growing up |
The word“That”in Paragraph 7 refers to(指)________.
| A．growing older | B．growing up | C．staying young | D．being happy |
From this passage we know Rose believed ________
| A．“Easier said than done.” | B．“Well begun is half done.” |
| C．“It is never too late to learn.” | D．“Reading makes a full man.” |