浙江省台州市2019-2020学年高二下学期英语期末教学质量评估试卷

    Fernando, Lucia, and their moms were heading downhill. Tired and hungry, Fernando was eager to have a rest and eat up the sandwich buried in his pack. Lucia desperately wanted to rest her tired feet and legs, which ached terribly from the challenging climb up the mountain. Mountain climbing was not her greatest talent.

    Distracted by hunger pains and by the beautiful view of the valley below, Fernando didn't see the large fallen branch steps ahead of him. His foot caught on it, sending him down a steep path. After rolling to a stop, he knew something was wrong with his ankle.

    His mom supported him as he tried to stand, but it was much too painful. They tried calling 911, but the surrounding trees blocked their cell phone signals. Analyzing their dilemma, the group decided that Lucia and her mom would climb back to the top of the mountain, where they would set off the emergency flares they carried. Lucia really began to worry when the group settled on this plan. She wasn't confident that her overtaxed muscles could carry her up the mountain a second time in one day!

    Fernando's mom stayed with her son, and tried to make him as comfortable as possible.  The air on the mountain was dry and turning cooler. She wrapped him in her jacket to keep him warm and periodically gave him sips of water.

    Meanwhile, Lucia and her mom climbed up the mountain-again! A feeling of pride washed over Lucia when she finally made it to the mountaintop-she was tougher than she thought! Then pride turned to amazement when she spotted a helicopter approaching. Quickly, her mom fired a flare, and they shouted and waved to attract attention. The helicopter flew round to let them know that he had seen them. The plan nearer and the pilot circled had worked-they were going to get Fernando safely off the mountain!

    Everyone procrastinates(拖延). "It's part of the human condition, "says procrastination researcher Tim Pychyl. "We want to feel good now. The way to do that is avoid the task." He admits that in the short term, procrastination is powerfully rewarding. The present self-benefits, of course, but not the future self.

    His research has shown that people can procrastinate on nearly anything, even enjoyable tasks such as planning a vacation. Some people procrastinate cleaning. Some people procrastinate by cleaning. The top tasks people delay are advancing their careers, taking care of their health, and planning their finances.

    One big factor for them is fear of failure, of not living up to expectations. Kelli Saginak, a 57-year-old health coach from Wisconsin, procrastinated about looking for a new job for years. That inability to take action only confirmed her belief that she would never do any better. "It's totally fear of judgment," says Saginak. "If I don't take the risk, I don't have to face the judgment. Yet it's simply me judging myself."

    Some people embrace procrastination, insisting that the white-hot pressure of a last-minute completion makes his or her work better. But researchers have proved it wrong. "I did an experiment, putting procrastinators under restrictions of time. They did worse than non-procrastinators, but they thought they did better." says Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor. "Non- Procrastinators focus on the task that needs to be done. They have a stronger personal identity and are less concerned about what psychologists call social esteem's how others like us."

    Procrastination is usually not going to be good for you. Just thinking about what you haven't done may cause discomfort. So if you have been procrastinating on starting an exercise routine, just put on your walking shoes. If you've been putting off a work project, reread your boss's notes about it.

    In the film The Matrix, Agent Smith, a super-computer in human shape, says, “You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern: a virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. "

    Yes, relatively speaking, we are just a large virus. While most species live in balance with their ecosystems, we fail to do so. We are taking more from nature than it has to give. We wipe out animals and plants as a virus might invade and kill a host. We are destroying our host, the earth.

    Our brain has been our most successful tool for survival. The funny thing is that our mind has developed to such a degree that we have thought up solutions to more survival problems. We are for the first time in earth's history changing nature to suit our comfort and desires. Being a human, I do like the advancement of technology and medicine as we nave the chance to survive longer and sometimes feel less pain. After all, nature is cruel and we can soften its blow through these inventions. However, people surviving genetic faults or illness, could they be actually making the gene pool more "dirty" and could even more people in the future suffer due to an increase in faulty DNA? It seems that even though we deal with a short-term problem we could be causing more. Are we being kind to be cruel?

    We are lucky enough to own a brain complex enough to think and create. But we fail to realize the only way to really survive is through respect of our host, the earth, and working with it as the only way a living thing can benefit is by benefiting its host as it depends on it to survive.

How to Become a Glass Half-Full Person

    Times are tough and many people are struggling. But just because we can find lots of reasons for feeling down doesn't mean that we should. We all get to wake up every day and choose whether we are going to be a glass half-full, or a glass half-empty person.

    Set your intention. Before you step out of bed, take one minute to set your intention for the day by coming up with one word about the attitude or spirit you want to bring to the day. It helps you better focus your time and energy.

Carry yourself like an optimist. Scientists have actually proven that how you present and carry yourself on the outside has a huge impact on how you feel on the inside. Talk with people as though you were the outgoing, confident, optimistic and successful person you wish to be and you will attract all sorts of positive people and opportunities into your life.

    Often the very thing we need to improve out circumstances require courage. That is, closing the gap between where you are now and where you would like to be in will require stepping outside your comfort zone and doing something that scares you away.

    Turn a problem into an opportunity. You can't solve your problems by complaining about them.Where pessimists (悲观主义者) see problems, optimists find opportunities. If you change the way you look at your problems, your problems change and transform into a rich array of opportunities to grow, learn and discover inner resources you never knew you had!

    Please try one of these strategies today and let me know how it helps! As an optimist, I am sure it will!

A. Perform an act of courage.

B. Expect good things to happen.

C. Stand tall and smile confidently.

D. Being intentional acts like a compass.

E. Surround yourself with positive people.

F. Below are tips on filling up your cup of optimism.

G. But you can solve them by approaching them from a new angle.

    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.

The Roar(咆哮) of Lava

    A strange sound ripped my father out of his sleep. What he didn't know at that moment was that the volcano Mauna Loa had begun to erupt, and the(disturb) sound he heard was the roar of lava. Soon, people in my father's village figured out what was happening, and all the(family) fled the village for safer areas. It was scary, but people stayed calm. (lucky), no one was hurt, but as the lava made its way to the ocean, it (destroy) homes and parts of the highway.

    Every time I heard my father tell this dramatic tale, I watched his eyes light I could tell that, even many years later, my father was both scared and amazed at the grand volcano. So, it was in high school  I decided to make a career out of studying Mauna Loa.

    Now, I work with other scientists studying Mauna Loa, one of Earth's largest active Volcanoes. Of course, we can't control the eruptions, but we can use the data we collect(predict) where the lava might flow next. We study geographical maps and examine where lava flowed during past eruptions. I even collect gas and lava samples that come directly from the volcano. We can use the  (inform) to help keep people safe.

    I feel lucky to spend my days so close to an active volcano, I think is one of Earth's greatest wonders. Like my father, I am both frightened and in awe(敬畏)of (it)power.

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    These days, football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Given that Neil Armstrong wanted to take a football to the Moon, we could even say that it is also the most popular sport out of this world! The history of the game goes back over two thousand years to Ancient China. It was then known as cuju (kick ball), a game using a ball of animal skins with hair inside. Goals were hung in the air. Football as we know it today started in Great Britain, where the game was given new rules.

    That football is such a simple game to play is perhaps the basis of its popularity. It is also a game that is very cheap to play. You don't need expensive equipment; even the ball doesn't have to cost much money. All over the world you can see kids playing to their hearts 'content with a ball made of plastic bags; just like Pele did when he was a boy.

    Another factor behind football's global popularity is the creativity and excitement on the field. It is fun enough to attract millions of people. You do not have to be a fan to recognize the skill of professional player-how they use their bodies to pass, score and defend can be amazing to see-or to feel the excitement of a game ending with a surprising twist.

    What's more, football has become one of the best ways for people to communicate: it does not require words, but everyone understands it. It breaks down walls and brings people together on and off the field. Take, for example, the famous football game on Christmas Day 1914. World War I had broken out months before, but British and German soldiers put down their guns and played football together-one moment of peace to remember during years of conflict.

    "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, ...... "said Bill Shankly, the famous footballer and manager. "I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." This might sound funny, but one only has to think about the Earth to realize that our planet is shaped like a football.