2015-2016学年北京市海淀区高一(上)英语期末考试

2015-2016学年北京市海淀区高一（上）英语期末考试

一、阅读理解（共10小题；共20分）

A

The Corn Planting

Hatch is nearly seventy. He and his wife had a son, Will, who was a fellow always cheerful,

bright, alert and a great favorite with all of us.

After high school, Will went to Chicago, where he became a student in the art Institute. Another

young fellow, Hal, from our town was also a student at the University in Chicago. They got together

and had a good many long talks. I got it from Hal that in Chicago, Will's straightforwardness made

him popular with all the young fellows.

After Hal graduated, he came home and got a job. He used to go quite often to see Will's father

and mother. The talk was always of Will. Hal said Will's parents were like two children wanting to

know every little detail Hal could remember about their son's life in the big city.

It was a spring night when Hal got a wire. Will had been killed in a car accident. We went along

to take the message to Hatch and his wife. Hal did knock and old Hatch came to the door. Hal told him

everything right into old Hatch and his wife. Old Hatch didn't say a word and stood there. The door

went shut again with a bang. Suddenly, after a long time, the old man got a hand corn-planter and his

wife got a bag of seed corn, and in the moonlight, that night, after they got that news, they were

planting corn. They did a row across the field, and then at the end of each row they knelt side by side

by the fence. The whole thing went on in silence.

It was the first time in my life I ever understand something about the connection between certain

people and the earth—a kind of silent cry, down into the earth, of those two old people, putting corn

down into the earth. It was as though they were putting death down into the ground that life might

grow again.

1. What made Will popular in the Art Institute?

A. His artistic talent. B. His good character.

C. His family background. D. His friendship with Hal.

2. According to paragraph 3, Will's parent .

A. were very children

B. were very talkative

C. were eager to know about their son's life

D. were fond of the life in the big city

3. On hearing the news of his son's death, Hatch .

A. planted corn B. pushed Hal out

C. burst into tears D. fell on the floor 4. According to the last paragraph, the old couple's behavior was to .

A. reduce their pain B. have a better harvest

C. memorize their son D. pray for their son's rebirth

B

The Importance of After-school Programs

In the old model of teaching and molding the behavior of youngsters and teens, the home and the

school had always been the two institutions tasked to provide counseling, support, learning and

providing avenues for character development. With the increasing number of kids who are not able to

go to school for various reasons from poverty to disenfranchisement, the need for alternative methods

to help children outside schools is being brought into the spotlight. In this article, we explore some of

the methods of after-school education and character building that is pivotal to mold in young minds

despite the inadequacy of education institutions to open its doors to everyone.

Here are some of the more common after-school and beyond-school activities that can be found

in many communities all over the world.

Sports Clubs. Sports has long been known as a key vehicle for molding minds and teaching

them the value of teamwork, sacrifice, determination, hard work and many other important values.

Beyond school, there are many sports clubs that offer an avenue for kids to bond together doing things

that they are passionate about. Common examples in this area cover sports such as basketball, baseball,

soccer, swimming, and more recent trends like skateboarding and surfing to name a few.

Performing Art Clubs. While some kids easily gravitate towards sports, there are others who

feel more at home on-stage or in a performing arts training room. Common examples include drama,

ballet, dance, The Glee Club, painting classes, piano and violin lessons and many others. These

classes hammer home the importance of being confident in your talents and taking pride in being able

to perform in front of a crowd. Many of the best Hollywood actors and actresses that we know today

started in school and community plays where they discovered their calling for the performing arts.

Remedial Classes. While these are not necessarily considered to be part of school, these are

intended to provide extra classes to help kids with their lessons. Common examples are those in