【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. |
Jenny was a pretty five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were checking out at the supermarket, Jenny saw a plastic pearl necklace（珍珠项链） priced at $2.50. Her mother bought the necklace for her but she had to do some housework to pay it off. Jenny agreed. She worked very hard every day, and soon Jenny paid off the necklace. Jenny loved it so much that she wore it everywhere except when she was in the shower. Her mother had told her it would turn her neck green!
Jenny had a very loving daddy. When Jenny went to bed, he would read Jenny her favorite story.
One night when he finished the story, he said, "Jenny, could you give me your necklace?"
“Oh! Daddy, not my necklace!" Jenny said. "But you can have Rosy, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. Okay?"
“Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Good night, little one.
A week later, her father once again asked Jenny for the necklace after her favorite story.
"Oh, Daddy, not my necklace! But you can have Ribbons, my toy horse. Do you remember her? She's my favourite."
"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you, little one. Sweet dreams."
Several days later, when Jenny's father came in to read her a story, Jenny was sitting on her bed and her lip was trembling（发抖）."Here, Daddy," she said, holding out her hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand.
With one hand her father held the plastic pearl necklace and with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue box. Inside the box was a real, beautiful pearl necklace. He had had it all along. He was waiting for Jenny to give up the cheap necklace so he could give her a real one.What did Jenny have to do to get the plastic pearl necklace?
| A．She had to help her mother do some housework. |
| B．She had to listen to her father tell a story every night. |
| C．She had to ask her father to pay for the necklace. |
| D．She had to give away her favorite toys to the poor children. |
From the text we know that_______.
| A．Jenny's mother paid a lot for the plastic pearl necklace |
| B．Jenny didn't like Rosy and Ribbons any longer |
| C．Jenny didn't want to get the real pearl necklace from her father |
| D．Jenny liked the plastic pearl necklace very much. |
Jenny's father asked for her plastic pearl necklace again and again in order to_______.
| A．keep it for himself | B．donate it |
| C．train her character | D．throw it away |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．A Lovely Girl |
| B．A Pearl Necklace |
| C．Father and Daughter |
| D．An Unforgettable Childhood |
Where has the Time gone? is the hottest song that has moved thousands of Chinese. Chinese parents give their children endless love and want nothing from them. However, sometimes, daughters and sons are too busy growing up and forget that their parents are getting older and older. What should we do? Let's have a look at a letter of a father's.
Dear son,
One day if you see me old and I am not myself, have patience and try to understand me. If I get dirty when eating.. ., if I cannot dress.. ., have patience. Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you. If, when I speak to you, I say the same things one thousand and one times, do not stop me and listen to me. When you were small, I had to read to you one thousand and one times the same story until you get to sleep.
When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold（责备） me. Remember when I had to chase you with a thousand excuses I made, in order that you wanted to bath.
When you see me meet something new, give me the necessary time and don't laugh at me. I taught you how to do so many things_ to eat well, to dress well... to face life.
If I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well when I need to and when not. When my legs do not allow me to walk, give me your hand the same way I did when you gave your first steps.
When sometimes I lose the memory during our conversation, let me have the necessary time to remember. And if I cannot do it, do not become nervous because the most important thing is not my conversation but to be with you and to have you listen to me.
Yours,
FatherWhat do we know about the Chinese parents?
| A．They often get dirty when eating. |
| B．They often refuse to take a shower. |
| C．They often read stories to their children while sleeping. |
| D．They love their children too much and ask for nothing in return. |
According to the father, what should you do when your old parents lose the memory during your conversation?
| A．Go on talking with them. |
| B．Be with them and listen to them. |
| C．Make them calm down. |
| D．Leave them alone. |
Why does the writer write this passage?
| A．To show a father's love to his son. |
| B．To introduce the song, Where has the Time gone? |
| C．To show what we should do when our parents are old. |
| D．To complain that their children are too busy to look after them. |
Who does the writer write this passage to?
| A．Parents. | B．Daughters and sons. |
| C．Teachers. | D．Students. |
According to a recent survey, British teenagers are damaging（伤害） their health by not getting enough sleep because they are prevented from doing so by electronic gadgets (电子设备) in their bedrooms.
According to the Sleep Council, "junk sleep" could compete with eating unhealthy junk food as a main worrying lifestyle for parents of teenage children.
Among the l, 000 students aged 12 t0 16 who were tested in the survey, 30 percent just slept for 4 to 7 hours a day. Almost a quarter said they fell asleep, more than once a week, while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic gadgets.
"This is a quite worrying trend（潮流）”， said Dr Chris Idzikowski of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. "What we are seeing is the appearance of terrible junk sleep - sleep that is of neither the length（长度） nor the quality it should be."
Nearly each of the teenagers had a phone, music system or TV in his or her bedroom, with around two-thirds owning all three. Almost one in five of the teenage boys said the quality of their sleep had been influenced by leaving their TVs or computers on. The survey also found that 40 percent of youngsters felt tired each day, with girls aged 15 to 16 feeling the worst.
"Teenagers need to wake up to the fact that to perform（表现） well. They need to do something about their sleep. I'm shocked（震惊） that so few teenagers have noticed the close connection," said Idzikowski.Among the students tested in the survey, about_______ of them fell asleep while using their electronic gadgets.
| A．200 | B．250 | C．300 | D．400 |
Which of the following kinds of sleep is thought to be "junk sleep"?
| A．A long sleep of good quality. |
| B．A short but good sleep. |
| C．A sleep with many dreams. |
| D．A short sleep of low quality. |
The underlined part "the close connection" means the connection between_______.
| A．hard work and good performance |
| B．good feelings and good performance |
| C．good sleep and good performance |
| D．good sleep and good looks |
"I believe you're the right person to write an advice column（专栏）for the students called "Dear Amy!". Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.
At first it wasn't too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.
"Dear Amy," it began, "I'm in real trouble. I've wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents won't even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I've tried explaining, but they won't listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree." The letter signed（签名）"Joe".
Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home?
Of course not. But didn't Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn't think out a good answer. Andy couldn't sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.
At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy's Maths class, sat down next to him and asked,
"What's wrong with you? You look a little worried."
"I guess I do," said Andy.
"If you got a problem, why don't you try writing to Amy about it?" asked Eleanor.
Andy sighed (叹气); but she continued, "in fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn't answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You'd better read it – it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was signed Joe, a songwriter."Andy might be_______.
| A．a Maths teacher |
| B．a songwriter |
| C．an editor of the school newspaper |
| D．a student in Jenny's school |
The underlined word "phony" perhaps means_______.
| A．unreal | B．sad |
| C．angry | D．impolite |
Who in fact wrote the letter?
| A．Joe. | B．Jenny. |
| C．Andy. | D．Eleanor. |
How did Andy feel at Eleanor's last words?
| A．Excited. . | B．Sad. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Worried. |
任务型阅读认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空格1个单词。（本大题共10小题：每小题0.5分，满分5分）
In the deserts of North Africa and Saudi Arabia lives the smallest of all foxes with the largest of ears. This animal is the fennec fox.
Fennec foxes have ears that are 5 to 6 inches long. That’s big for an animal that weighs less than four pounds. Their ears help shed（去除）body heat. And, as you may have guessed, they also provide great hearing.
It’s also interesting to think about the hair of fennec foxes. Why would a fox that lives in the desert need a thick, fur coat? Actually, the desert isn’t always warm. During the nighttime, a desert can be terribly cold! A fennec fox’s fur keeps them warm during those desert nights. They also have long bushy tails that they use as a blanket. And the hair on their feet protects them from the hot sand in the daytime.
Fennec foxes live in small communities of dens（兽穴）.They spend most of the day sleeping in their dens, out of the hot sun. Then, when night comes, they come out in search of food. In addition to their great hearing, fennecs also use their great sense of smell and big eyes to track down dinner.
Like other foxes, fennecs are omnivores. This means they eat both meat and plants. They like eating birds, eggs, insects, snails, fruit and leaves best.
Fennec fox mothers have one to five babies at a time. The lifespan of a fennec fox is 10 to 12 years. The cream coloration of fennec foxes help them blend into their desert habitat. Still, they have to watch out for predators（捕食性动物）. These include caracals ( a type of wild cat ) , jackals, eagle owls, hyenas and humans. Humans catch them for their fur and to sell as pets. 