2017-2018学年度下学期高二期末考试英语试题（时间：100分钟总分：150分）第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）从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。

AA music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!Field DayJanuary 1, 2018. SydneyField Pay means New Year’s Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city’s original multi －stage party, it’s a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun - filled first day of the year. There’s an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer’s day.The Envision FestivalFebruary 22 – 25, 2018, UvitaThe Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.The McDowell Mountain Music FestivalMarch 2 - 4, 2018, PhoenixThe McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix’s musical celebration of community culture. Since its founding in 2004, it is the only 100% non –profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.The Old Settler’s Music FestivalApril 19 - 22, 2018, DaleThe Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.1. In which city can people enjoy a fun New Year’s Day?A. PhoenixB. Uvita.C. SydneyD. Dale2. What is special about the McDowell Mountain Music Festival?A. It encourages people to receive education.B. It is not aimed at making money.C. It provides an opportunity for friend gathering.D. It focuses on cultural exchanges.3. Which festivals are connected with nature?A. Field Day and the Envision Festival.B. The Envision Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival.C. The Old S ettler’s Music Festival and the McDowll McDowell Mountain Music Festival.D. The Envision Festival and the Old Settler’s Music Festival.BFor years, my time spent in the shower could have got me a mention in Guinness World Records as the shortest time taken to bathe. I hurried up during this process.One day, however, while at a party, I heard an artist friend telling everybody that his idea came while he was having a shower. “What about you?” he asked, “Don’t you get your creative thoughts from the same place?”“I’m in and out in a hurry,” I told him proudly. “I have no time to waste!”“What a pity,” he said. “That’s the place where you need to slow down; plenty of great thoughts come from there!” I tried it o ut. I slowed down the whole process, started enjoying the warm water, taking a little longer to soap myself and even spending more time just enjoying the process, and realized how much I had missed in hurrying up all these years.A woman told me how much stress her friend was suffering from and how she sought to convince her that she needed to find ways to relax. She gave her a videotape on stress management and relaxation techniques, and encouraged her to watch it right away. Fifteen minutes later, her friend handed back the tape. “It was good,” she said,” but I don’t need it.”“But it’s a 70 - minute video,” the woman replied, “You couldn’t have watched the whole thing.”“Yes, I did,” her friend said. “I put it in fast - forward!”A major social problem of the 21st century is Hurry Sickness. We hurry through work. We swallow fast food. We complain that we don’t have enough time. We race through the days and weeks until one day we look back in amazement and comment, “My god, how the years flew by!” Then we realize the heavy price we have paid for traveling fast.Symptoms of Hurry Sickness include stress and anxiety, bad relationships, lowered work performance and even disease. Some people don’t survive it. What’s the cure? Slow down, for life is so short and precious that we must live it well.4. What was the advantage of taking a shower in the eyes of the artist friend?A. Time was saved.B. Nothing was missed.C. Great ideas flew away.D. Creative thoughts came.5. What was the trouble with the woman’s friend?A. She felt stressed.B. She found the tape useless.C. She found no way to relax.D. She watched the tape too fast.6. What are the major trouble people face in the 21st century in the writer’s eyes?A. People run fast to work.B. Everything is done in a hurry.C. People don’t have enough time.D. Time flies without being noticed.7. How can the problem be settled?A. By pacing down.B. By learning to survive.C. By developing friendship.D. By performing good work.CRegardless of how far we’d like to believe gender(性别) equality in the workplace has come, there’s still a yawning gap between male and female leaders in the professional world. A 2018 statistic shows that women nowadays hold just 5.8 percent of CEOs positions at S&P 500 companies, according to Catalyst.While it’s not a huge shock that women are somewhat underrepresented in leadership positions, what is surprising though, is the fact that females may actually be better suited to lead in almost every area, at least according to new findings from the BI Norwegian Business School.In their research, Professor Martinsen and Professor Lars Glas surveyed (调查) 2,900 managers with a special focus on personality types. The results were clear: Women scored higher than men in four of the five major leadership-centric categories.While some people believe that men inherently make better leaders — probably because they picture a leader with a commanding voice, which is more typical of men than women — this piece of research suggests that women are better at methodical management and goal-setting, openness, sociability and supportiveness, as well as ability to communicate clearly.There was one area in which men scored higher than women, though, and that was on emotional stability and ability to face job-related pressure and stress. The results suggest that women are more sensitive to the effects of high-pressure or highly emotional situations.Obviously, it’s important to consider individual(个人的) differences. Anyone, regardless of gender, may be an inspiring leader and a competent boss. So next time you’re hiring for a management position, you just might want to give the resumes(简历) from female candidates a harder look.8. What makes us shocked much at leadership positions?A. Women are worse than men.B. Men take almost all high positions.C. There is a huge gap between genders.D. Women might behave better in every field.9. Which of the following can best replace the underlined word ‘‘inherently” in paragraph 4?A. properlyB. potentiallyC. naturallyD. normally10. Which of the following may be the best title of this text?A. How We Can Figure Out The BossB. Why Women Are Better Than MenC. Why Women Make Better BossesD. How We Can Tell Gender Difference11. Who might have special interest in this article?A. Job hunters.B. Employers.C. Employees.D. University students.DOne of the most striking findings of a newly research in the UK is that of the people interviewed, one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with.Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start close relationships? Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love? Or are we making it harder for ourselves? It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships. Women no longer rely upon partners for money or status. A man doesn’t expect his wife to be in sole (唯一的) charge of running his household and raising his children.But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence.In theory, finding a partner should be much simpler these days. Only a few generations ago, your choice of soul mate was limited by geography, social convention and family tradition. Although it was never clear, many marriages were essentially arranged. Now those barriers have been broken down. You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening. When the world is your oyster (牡蛎), you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl.But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by the limitations of choice. The expectations of partners are raised to an unmanageable degree: good looks, impressive salary, kind to grandmother, and right socks. There is no room for error in the first impression.We think that a relationship can be perfect. If it isn’t, it should be ended. We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don’t put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship. Twelve-hour work at the office makes relaxed after-hours dating difficult. The cost of housing and child-raising creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership.12. What is a contemporary family like in UK today?A. Couples share the burdens.B. Men begin to depend on women.C. Women are responsible for housework.D. It is difficult to take care of a family.13. Why do people preserve their independence?A. To live alone happily.B. To have more choices.C. To avoid marriages.D. To ignore traditions.14. What makes it hard for people to date?A. Mental headache in dating.B. The pressure to survive.C. Bad luck in finding a partner.D. The faith between life partners.15. What is the author trying to inform us in this text?A. Perfect marriages conflict with independence.B. People should, spend more money on marriages.C. The expectations and reality separate the lovers.D. Independence is much more important than love.第二节（共5小题；每小题2分，满分10 分）根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。