广东省2021年英语高考模拟卷（1）

    Thomas Edison was one of the most successful inventors the world has ever seen.

    Bui people found that although Edison was good at inventing new things, he was a poor fisherman. He used to spend an hour almost every day sitting at the side of a river and fish. He always fished all alone by himself.

    People asked Edison, “Why are you so crazy about fishing when you are so bad at it?” His answer was, “I really never caught ant fish because I have never used any bait (诱饵).” Another question followed, “Why would you fish without bait?” Edison answered, “Because when you fish without bait, people don't disturb you and neither do the fish.”

    Sometimes the world's best inventor was the world's worst fisherman. In fact, because Edison was the world's worst fisherman, he could become the world's greatest inventor.

    Are you setting aside some time for yourself to think? Here are some ideas for you:

    Slowing down and taking long showers is a good idea.

    Long walks are good too.

    Afternoon naps have been proved to improve creativity.

A. But he never caught any fish.

B. It provides me my best time to think.

C. So is listening to some soft classical music.

D. In all, Edison has thousands of inventions.

E. He was asked the reason behind him being a fisherman.

F. To make your brain work better, you need to take a rest.

G. Set aside 15-20 minutes per day so that you can do nothing.

    A thief entered the bedroom of the 30th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.

    The event happened in the early rooming hours in one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August, 1923. He and his family were living in the same third­floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had occupied several years before. The former President's wife was still living in the White House.

    Coolidge awoke to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.

    Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn't take that.”

    The thief, gaining his voice, said, “Why？”

    “I don't mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠). Take it near the window and read what is impressed on its back.” the President said.

    The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”

    “Are you President Coolidge？” he asked.

    The President answered, “Yes, and the House of Representatives (众议院) gave me that watch charm. I'm fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let's talk this over.”

    Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I'll take this and leave everything else.”

    Coolidge, knowing there was $80 in it, persuaded the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.

    Coolidge decided to offer the man and his roommate two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out $32 and said it was a loan (借款)．

    He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor.” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.

    The saying “last man standing” refers to a(n)(compete), contest, or other situation where the field of participants is narrowed until only a single individual remains. Occasionally, the term may be used to describe a winning couple or team rather an individual

    The exact origins of the term are  (certain). Some believe the term  (original) applied to the last boxer to remain during a match. Others claim the term came from old - fashioned spelling bees, where participants either gave up  were judged “out” and asked to sit. Perhaps the most widely use of the term is in connection with a tontine (联合养老制), an agreement in a number of persons collectively own something of value, often land. Interest in a tontine cannot  (pass) to another party, so the last man standing, in this case the last person alive gets the entire interest. Throughout history, tontines have been dangerous investments.

    Today, the term is used in a number of  (situation). It may refer to the winner in any  (give) contest. It may even refer to the last person to continue his attempt  (achieve) a goal after the others have given up.

    There were no people on the park bench as I sat down to read beneath the branches of an old willow tree, with good reasons to sigh, for the world was dragging me down. At this time, a boy approached me. He stood right before me, and said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”

    In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight, with its petals (花瓣) all worn. Wanting him to take his flower and go off to play, I managed a smile and then turned to the other side.

    But instead of leaving, he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his nose and said firmly and clearly, “It really smells pretty and it's beautiful, too. That's why I picked it. Here it's for you.”

    The flower before me was dying or dead. But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”

    But instead of placing the flower in my hand, he held it in mid-air. It was then that I noticed that the boy was blind.

    I heard my voice quiver (轻微颤抖), and at the same time my tears shone like the sun. As I thanked him for picking the very best one, he smiled and said, “You're welcome.”

    And then he ran off to play, not knowing the influence he'd had on me.

    I sat there and wondered how he managed to see a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree. Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

    Through the eyes of the blind boy, I could see the problem was not with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I had been blind. From now on, I promised to see beauty and appreciate every second. Then I held the flower up to my nose and breathed its fragrance and smiled as that young boy.

    It was summer, and my dad wanted to treat me to a vacation like never before. He decided to take me on a trip to the Wild West.

    We took a plane to Albuquerque, a big city in the state of New Mexico. We reached Albuquerque in the late afternoon. Uncle Paul, my dad's friend, picked us up from the airport and drove us up to his farm in Pecos.

    His wife Tina cooked us a delicious dinner and we got to know his sons Ryan and Kyle. My dad and I spent the night in the guestroom of the farm house listening to the frogs and water rolling down the river nearby. Very early in the morning, Uncle Paul woke us up to have breakfast. "The day starts at dawn on my farm," he said. After breakfast, I went to help Aunt Tina feed the chickens, while my dad went with Uncle Paul to take the sheep out to graze(吃草). I was impressed to see my dad and Uncle Paul riding horses. They looked really cool.

    In the afternoon, I asked Uncle Paul if I could take a horse ride, and he said yes, as long as my dad went with me. I wasn't going to take a horse ride by myself anyway. So, my dad and I put on our new cowboy hats, got on our horses, and headed slowly towards the mountains. "Don't be late for supper," Uncle Paul cried, "and keep to the track so that you don't get lost!" "OK!" my dad cried back. After a while Uncle Paul and his farm house were out of sight. It was so peaceful and quiet and the colors of the brown rocks, the deep green pine trees, and the late afternoon sun mixed to create a magic scene. It looked like a beautiful woven(编织的）blanket spread out upon the ground just for us.

注意：

1）所续写短文的词数应为150左右；

2）至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；

3）续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；

4）续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1: Suddenly a little rabbit jumped out in front of my horse.__________________________________
Paragraph 2: We had no idea where we were and it was getting dark. ____________________________

    Sparrow is a fast－food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast－food concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

    Sparrow failed to grow for another two years until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share. He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fast－food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

    Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants. Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers' spending power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

    The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast－food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

    Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额).

    These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast－food chains in the regions where it operated.

    I was worried about the big math test. "It's just so1"I whined (抱怨) to my mother. "You, Dad, and Tyler hardly have to work at all to understand math, and meanwhile I2for hours to figure out every new concept." "Sometimes things that are worth3 take time, Honey," she responded.

    The next day in Language Arts class, when the teacher wrote "Energy and persistence conquer(征服) all things" on the board, it felt like old Ben Franklin was speaking 4to me. "Energy and persistence," I muttered. "I'll study very day until that math test, and I'll be  5 to conquer it."

    The next three weeks were 6, to say the least. Once1 made my plan to spend time 7 everyone wanted me for some new and 8 activity. Each time9 an invitation, I gritted my teeth(咬紧牙关) and 10 a math test paper with a big A+on it. Happily for me, I got plenty of 11 from various sources. When I showed my study plan to my math teacher, she was 12. At home, my brother was also happy to lend a hand.

    When the day of the math exam finally arrived, I was 13 worried. But I knew I had done14 I could. I would love to say that I came home a week later with a big A+ on my exam paper. It did not happen that way. This story did have a 15ending, though. When I came home with a B on my test, my parents took turns to 16 me. "You knew the test would be 17, but you didn't back down," said my father. "You earned that 18! Perfect grades are nice, 19 we care more about you working hard and learning. We're proud of you."

    So I guess Ben Franklin was right! I didn't get an A+, but with energy and persistence, I definitely conquered what I thought would be the 20 math test.

    Richard Dermer is a pizza shop owner. But he is better known for his hobby. As a extraordinary kite collector, people are impressed by kites covering the walls from all over the world when they walk into his pizza shop.

    Dermer worked at Hideaway. He bought the pizza shop in 1960. Then, in 1970, his game-partner and manager at Hideaway was the first to market the Japanese version of the game Go in the United States. It was this game that led Dermer to kites, and from there he took off—eventually becoming president of the American Kiefliers Association.

    Dermer now has a huge kite collection. He told Collectors Weekly, “Initially, I was a novice, but I enjoyed learning, trying to acquire more about kites. And the more I got into kite festivals and collecting kites, the more I discovered and the deeper the subject became.”

    What Dermer's collection and hobby brings to the United States is an international perspective and history on kite flying. In India, for example, kite flying is a fierce, sometimes violent sport, while in Thailand, kite battles reflect the war of the sexes between men and women. Kites were used in World War II, to distract German planes and for target practice.

    When Dermer started stunt kite (特技风筝), it was pretty new. All the kites were triangular, and they all looked the same. But soon with his efforts, that changed. People could see kites of all shapes, sizes and colors flying in the sky. During the 1980s and 1990s kites went through quite a developmental stage where they were getting better and better as new lighter, stronger materials were being developed. Dermer even set up the new rules for judging these stunt kite competitions, which take into account how much control the flier has, and the difficulty of the moves.