2024年4月12日发(作者：)

2023-2024学年北京市西城高三学期期末英语模拟试题

第一部分：知识运用（共两节，30分）

第一节（共10小题：每小题1. 5分，共15分）

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，

并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A winter storm dropped huge amounts of snow overnight on January 16 in western Pennsylvania.

Coach Brian Delallo, who worked on a local high school football team, decided to 1 his players'

weightlifting practice. He texted his players saying: "Due to the expected severe 2 Monday's

weightlifting workout has been cancelled. Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel （为……

除雪） their driveway. Don't accept any 3 --that's our Monday workout. "

The players received the message and went out to work on the more than six inches of snow that

fell overnight. They said that they removed 4 from dozens of homes. Some players texted their

coach afterwards to tell him how 5 it was. "We all feel great about it, " said team captain Gavin

Moul. "It's not only helping them, but it's helping us to become a better team. "

Many of the people whom the team members approached couldn't believe that the players

wouldn't accept any payment. Sometimes people even 6 their help because they wouldn't take

money for it.

Actually, it was not the first time for the team to have shoveling workout. It was started by a

coach more than two decades ago. It was one of the many 7 the team kept.

"It's about community. " the coach said. "It is an inspiring way for us to interact with our

community and show that it 8 Shoveling snow is just one of those opportunities to show

appreciation to the community that supports us. "The team got a workout and gave 9 to the

community by doing these acts of kindness at the same time. It was a 10 for all.

1. A. try out B. pick up C. go over D. call off-

2. A. injury B. weather C. disease D. pressure

3. A. money B. apology C. challenge D. request

4. A. dirt B. water C. snow D. waste

5. A. demanding B. rewarding C. promising D. amusing

6. A. sought B. got C. appreciated D. refused

7. A. goals B. secrets C. traditions D. jobs

8. A. matters B. cares C. works D. stays

9. A. off B. up C. in D. back

10. A. way B. win C. must D. lesson

第二节（共10小题：每小题1. 5分，共15分）

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填空。在未给提示词的空白处仅填写1个恰当的单词，在

给出提示词的空白处用括号内所给词的正确形式填空。请在答题卡指定区域作答。

A

We are writing 11 （call）on everyone to take part in the Clear Your Plate campaign. It urges

people to save food by not wasting anything on the dining table. You may not know over 30% of the

world's food 12 （waste）every year, while many people in poor areas do not have enough to eat.

Reducing daily food waste by just 5% could save millions of people from starvation. Let's start doing

13 we can to make the world a better place.

B

China's modern science and technology museum system 14 （attract）over one billion offline

visits since 2012, 15 （play）a unique role in promoting science popularization and improving

scientific literacy in the country. The system will continue to provide scientific education and

popularization to the public, especially to key groups such as 16 （teenager）.

More than 3. 5 billion people worldwide spend an average of three hours a day glued to their

smartphones. Researchers found that people who lowered their usage by one hour every day were 17

（happy） and reduced anxiety symptoms by more than 30%. Cutting back was more effective than

total digital detox（戒瘾）: People who had spent one hour less per day 18 smartphones during

the one-week intervention were more likely to successfully change their habits over the long term than

those 19 had put their smartphones away 20 （entire） for a week.

第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，38分）

第一节（共14小题；每小题2分，共28分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上

将该项涂黑。

A

Pets are part of our family so it's important to factor them in when planning a trip that you're not

taking them with you on. Pet charity Blue Cross advises planning well in advance so you know that

your pet will be comfortable.

Family and friends

Leaving your pet in the care of a trusted friend or neighbour will give you peace of mind that it

will be well cared for. Your pet will be able to stay with them in their home.

Things to consider if your pet is staying in another house:

· Do they have another dog or pet and will they get on with your pet?

· Do they have a garden? Is the garden secure so your pet can't escape?

Pet sitter

Pet sitters stay in or visit your home to look after your pet while you're away for a fee. This is a

good option which allows your pet to stay in a familiar environment and you will receive regular

updates.

How to find a good pet sitter:

· Ask friends and family for recommendations for pet sitters.

· Pet sitters don't need a license to work, but reputable ones will be able to show you training and

insurance certificates.

· Check reviews online from independent review sites.

Home boarder

Home boarders are people that take pets into their own homes to look after for a fee.

How to find a good home boarder:

· Check their home has no obvious dangers, like exposed wires, toxic substances and unsecured

fences.

· Your pet is invited round to get to know the home and meet the family it'll be staying with.

· You can easily find and view their license to home board pets from the local council as well as

their insurance details and training.

Boarding kennels

Kennels are an option, but it depends whether your pet is comfortable being left alone in a kennel

environment around other pets.

How to find a boarding kennel:

· Get a personal recommendation, and check the kennel is licensed.

· Ask if you can visit before you book.

· Ask about insurance cover and the procedure for contacting a vet（兽医）.

21. If you prefer your pet to stay in a familiar environment, you can leave it with _____.

A. a friend B. a pet sitter C. a home boarder D. a boarding kennel

22. How can one find a suitable home boarder?

A. Call the insurance company.

B. Check the license from the local council.

C. Check reviews from independent review sites.

D. Invite him over to your home and meet your family.

23. Who may find this passage most useful?

A. A vet who desires to change his job.

B. A man who is considering adopting a dog.

C. A couple who are planning to rent a house.

D. A pet owner who will take a business trip.

B

Jim Glaub and his wife just moved into their new Manhattan apartment on 22nd Street when the

previous houseowner said something curious: "Just so you know, there's this thing where letters

addressed to Santa come to the apartment. It has been coming for years and no one knows why. But

it's not that big a deal. "

Then in the months leading to Christmas, letters from kids or parents to Santa came flooding in,

asking for gifts they could not otherwise afford. Glaub and his wife responded to as many as they

could, writing notes, even buying gifts. But they could do only so much.

Glaub, of course, is not Santa. He runs a marketing company. But one night, when the couple

threw a Christmas party, a solution appeared. The guests noticed the hundreds of letters they'd yet to

act upon piled in the corner of their dining room and asked about them.

"I told them the story, " Glaub said. His guests were very interested. "A lot of people were like,

'I'll take a letter. I'll fulfill it. ""

And so was born Miracle on 22nd Street, a community-based volunteer organization that

responds to children's letters to Santa with season's greetings and gifts. Working with other nonprofits

that help those in need, Glaub invited families from around the country to go online and request gifts

for their children. Meanwhile, donors can sign up to buy gifts for a child or family, accompanied by a

signed note.

Letters typically request popular items, such as toys, coats, a doll for little kids, makeup and bikes

for older ones. One child suffering back pain from sleeping on the living room couch in a crowded

household asked for a bed.

Some letters are heartbreaking. One child wrote: "Dear Santa, for Christmas, I want my brother

to get better. My younger brother has a hard time walking and has to use his wheelchair. I wish he

could play like me. "

That's a tough ask. But Glaub did send the children gift cards and a kind note.

Last year, Glaub and the organization helped more than 800 families. One beneficiary wrote: ". .

you gave my babies a reason to smile and enjoy their Christmas after everything we've been through.

All I wanted was to see them happy and I got just what I wanted. "

Glaub no longer tries to figure out why the letters come to the apartment. Putting in the long

hours to help the families is what it's all about for him.

24. At the beginning, what did the couple do with the letters to Santa?

A. They paid no attention to them.

B. They asked their guests to help.

C. They just piled them in the corner.

D. They responded to as many as possible.

25. Miracle on 22nd Street was set up to _____.

A. let more people know their story

B. get more needy families and donors involved

C. find out why the letters came to the apartment

D. provide a platform for people to express their appreciation

26. How will Glaub probably feel about what they did for the senders of the letters?

A. Worthwhile. B. Relieved. C. Curious.

C

D. Grateful.

In parts of Africa, people communicate with a wild bird-the greater

honeyguide-in order to locate bee habitats and harvest their stores of honey. It's

a rare example of cooperation between humans and wild animals, and a potential

instance of cultural coevolution（共同进化）. Brian Wood from UCLA and

Claire Spottiswoode from University of Cape Town were lead authors on a

study showing how this valuable partnership is maintained and varies across

cultures.

"Our study demonstrates the bird's ability to learn distinct voiced signals that are traditionally

used by different honey-hunting communities, expanding possibilities for mutually beneficial

cooperation with people, " Wood said. "Honeyguides seem to know the landscape well, gathering

knowledge about the location of bee nests, which they then share with people, " Spottiswoode said.

"People are eager for the bird's help. "The honeyguides also benefit from locating the colonies: They

eat the leftover honeycomb.

Spottiswoode and Wood's study was done in cooperation with the Hadza in Tanzania, with whom

Wood has been conducting research since 2004, and the Yao community of northern Mozambique.

Their prior work in both communities documented differences in how each culture attracts

honeyguides. Among the Hadza, a honey-hunter announces a desire to partner with the bird by

whistling. In Mozambique, Yao honey-hunters do so with a "Brr! . . . followed by a ". . . hmm!"

Using mathematical models and audio playback experiments, the team studied these signals, their

usefulness to people and their impacts on birds. They experimentally exposed honeyguides in Tanzania

and Mozambique to the same set of prerecorded sounds. This enabled the researchers to test whether

honeyguides had learned to recognize and prefer the specialized signals that local honey-hunters used

or were naturally attracted to all such signals.

The honeyguides in Tanzania were over three times more likely to cooperate when hearing the

calls of local Hadza people than the calls of ‘foreign’ Yao. The honeyguides in Mozambique were

almost twice as likely to cooperate when hearing the local Yao call, compared to the 'foreign'Hadza

whistles.

The study proposes that differences in honeyguide-attracting signals are not random, but make

practical sense. While honey-hunting, both the Hadza and Yao come across mammals （哺乳动物），

but only the Hadza hunt them, using bows and arrows. The Hadza's hunting might explain the less

notable whistles they use. Filmed interviews show Hadza hunters explaining that they can evade being

detected by their prey（猎物） because their whistles "sound like birds. "Contrarily, the signal the

Yao use to communicate with the honeyguide can help scare off animals they find dangerous.

27. By cooperating with honey-hunting communities, honeyguides can _____.

A. nest near human culture

B. locate bee habitats easier

C. have access to more food

D. become familiar with the landscape

28. Why did the researchers use the same prerecorded signals?

A. To study their mathematical models.

B. To check if they are a natural preference.

C. To investigate their usefulness to humans.

D. To see if they increase birds' ability to find honey.

29. What can we learn from Spottiswoode and Wood's study?

A. The human-bird relationship can change with new signals.

B. The Yao community hunts animals while looking for bee nests.

C. The honeyguides are more responsive to calls from the local people.

D. The signals from the Hadza were more effective in attracting honeyguides.

30. What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A. How mammals react to different signals.

B. How hunting techniques are applied to prey.

C. How whistles enable honeyguides to find targets.

D. How signals are associated with hunting practice.

D

The release of ChatGPT has caused more than a little worry about its ability to produce credible

pieces of writing. "The Colege Essay Is Dead, " some people declared. That's unlikely. There are

obvious workarounds. For example, students wouldn't benefit from ChatGPT if they were required to

write out essays by hand.

A return to handwritten essays could benefit students in a way. For instance, neuroscience

research has revealed that the act of handwriting is very different from punching letters on a keyboard.

Handwriting requires precise motor skills that stimulate greater activity in a broader group of brain

regions when compared with typing and engage the brain in ways that researchers have linked to

learning and memory improvements. Handwriting forces those areas responsible for memory and

learning to communicate with each other, which helps form networks that facilitate the recall and

acquisition of new information.

Much of the research has focused on children or younger students. But there's evidence that, even

for older students and adults, completing assignments in longhand is a more cognitively （认知地）

involved process, leading to better processing of ideas and more original work. Meanwhile, research

on foreign-language learners has found that handwriting is associated with improvements in some

measure of accuracy and comprehension. Handwriting requires you to put a filter on what you're

producing in a way that typing doesn't. When you're writing by hand, you need to know what you want

to say before you begin. If you don't, you'll have to cross things out or start over. Typing on a computer

requires far less forethought. It is less challenging for the brain-and challenging the brain is central to

education itself.

A return to handwritten essays wouldn't be easy on teachers, who might have to reduce the length

of assignments or allocate（分配） extra class time for completion. They'd also have the burden of