2020年合肥市第一中学高三英语上学期期中考试试卷及答案

2020年合肥市第一中学高三英语上学期期中考试试卷及答案

第一部分 阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30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

A

The Origins of Famous Brands

Our lives are full of brand names and trademarked products that we use every day. Although many brand names

are simple acronyms(首字母缩略词) or versions of their founders names, some of the companies we trust every

day actually have fascinating and surprising back stories.

Starbucks

It seems fitting that the most famous coffee brand in the world would take its name from one of the world’s

greatest works of literature. The inspiration for the name of the coffeehouse came from Herman Melville’sMoby

Dick. The founders’ original idea was to name the company after the Captain Ahab’s ship, but they eventually

decided that Pequot wasn’t a great name for coffee, so they chose Ahab’s first mate, Starbucks, as the name

instead.

Google

Google was originally called Backrub, for it searched for links in every corner of the Web. In 1997, when the

founders of the company were searching for a new name showing a huge amount of data for their rapidly

improving search technology, a friend suggested the word “googol”. When a friend tried to register the new

domain (域) name, he misspelled “googol” as “google”.

Nike

Originally founded as a distributor for Japanese running shoes, the company was originally named BRS, or Blue

Ribbon Sports. In 1971, BRS introduced its own soccer shoe, a model called Nike, which is alsothe name for the

Greek goddess of victory. In 1978, the company officially renamed itself as Nike, Inc.

The right name is essential to a company’s success, and a great origin story is just as important as a great product.

An attractive origin story is one more thing that keeps customers guessing, wondering, and buying its products.

1. What is the name of the Captain Ahab’s ship?

A. Moby Dick. B. Starbucks.

C. Pequot. D. Herman Melville.

2. Why did the founders of the Google want to change its name? A. They mistook their name.

B. They wanted new customers.

C. The company’s original name was too long.

D. The company’s search technology was improving rapidly.

3. Where does the importance of the origin story of one company lie in?

A. It can change the company’s image.

B. It can add myth to the company.

C. It explains the development of the company to customers.

D. It makes customers imagine and purchase its goods.

B

I had very good parents. My mother came toAmericafromScotlandby herself when she was 11, and she didn’t

have much education. My dad was kind of a street kid, and he eventually went into the insurance business, selling

nickel policies door to door.One day, my dad asked his boss, “What's the toughest market to sell?” and the

insurance guy replied “Well, black people. They don’t buy insurance.” My dad thought, but they have kids; they

have families. Why wouldn’t they buy insurance? So he said, “Give meHarlem.”

When my dad died in 1994, I talked about him onThe Tonight Show. I told the story of how he worked in

Harlem and how he always taught us to be open-minded and not to say or think things of racism (种族主义). Then

one day, I got a letter from a woman who was about 75 years old.

She wrote that when she was a little girl, a man used to come to her house to collect policies. She said this

man was the only white person who had ever come to dinner at their house. The man was very kind to her, she

said, and his name was Angelo—was this my father?

The letter made me cry. I called her up and said yes, that was in fact my dad, and she told me how kind he

had been to her family. Her whole attitude toward white people was based on that one nice man she met in her

childhood, who always treated her with kindness and respect and always gave her a piece of candy. From this

experience, I learned a valuable life lesson: never judge people and be open-minded and kind to others.

4. What did my father do after knowing what was the toughest market to sell?

A. He asked his boss to give him some insurance.

B. He went toScotlandto improve his education.

C. He specially went to white families with kids.

D. He choseHarlemto face the toughest challenge. 5. What can we learn from the third paragraph?

A. It was rare that a businessman had dinner in his customer's house.

B. Angelo was the only white person to sell insurance inHarlem.

C. The little girl admired Angelo very much.

D. Racism was a serious problem inAmericaat that time.

6. Which of the following can best describe the author’s father?

A. Stubborn and generous. B. Patient and intelligent.

C. Determined and open-minded. D. Confident and romantic.