2019年江苏省苏州市吴江区英语笔考试真题答案解析

A

England continues to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. London in particular is one of the most visited cities and draws people in with its appeal, history and pubs. England’s smaller cities, like Bath and Oxford, are equally as attractive with a lot of culture and fewer crowds. Liverpool, birthplace of The Beatles, has a rich musical history. The countryside has wonderful natural beauty. Here are some tips on traveling in England.

Free museums—Public museums offer free admission in every city throughout England and the UK. It’s a great way to learn about the country’s most influential artists and history, and spend a rainy day without paying a cent.

Book early—Book all transportation well in advance, even if you don’t plan to use it. Fares can be around £2 with a little planning. The Megabus not only runs buses but also provides trains throughout England and is the best choice for cheap travel throughout the country.

Pub food—Eating in England can be quite expensive, but for good cheap and filling meals, visit the local pubs, where you can get a good meal for less than £10. Besides, the pubs are a great way to meet people!

Get a Taste of UK card—The taste of the UK card offers up to 50% off at selected restaurant. You don’t need to be an English to get the card, and you needn’t pay the first month’s membership fee, which is perfect for most travelers.

Take a free walking tour—Many major cities in England offer free walking tours. They usually last a few hours and are a great way to see the city.

B

Two summers ago I was about to turn fifty and wanted to do something I’d never done before. My daughter Bailey thought skydiving（跳伞） would be perfect for me. I can promise you that of all the things I was thinking of doing, jumping out of an airplane never came close to making the list. As I age, I seem to have developed a growing fear of heights.

After several requests from my daughter, I finally said yes and she looked almost shocked. I told a friend what we were doing, then we set off. We had a 3-hour drive to the jump site. We drove through some beautiful countryside, but then we passed a small cemetery（墓地）. Then we passed another cemetery and another one. I asked if so many people died jumping out of airplanes in this area that they needed to keep building more cemeteries to bury all the bodies!

As we squeezed into the little plane, I tightly held the right hand of my partner Ronnie. The short ride to altitude was cruel for me. As Bailey stepped to the door, she looked back at me and said “Dad, I’m sure you can do it!” I said yes as she rolled out. I immediately looked behind me and said “RONNIE I AM NOT FEELING GOOD!” He said, “It’s going to be great. Besides, it’s too late now anyway”, and we jumped out.

The next five minutes were some of the most amazing of my life. It was so beautiful and peaceful—except for the parts where I was screaming. I prayed to God for the parachute（降落伞）to open, but mostly I told him how thankful I was for my life and being with me through good and bad.

C

Movies are a great means of entertainment for many. There are some advantages of watching movies. Comedies, for example, help reduce your blood pressure. Laughter for 15 minutes during a film makes your blood vessels（血管）wider. Besides, when you watch a sad movie, you’re more likely to come away from it thinking about loved ones and feeling happy about what you have.

Watching movies can make you creative. A study shows that young children, who watched the use of magic in Harry Potter, score significantly higher in a creative thinking test than children who watched something else. Moreover, movies are very useful for strengthening people’s mental health. They enable people to take time to really relax and temporarily forget about their daily concerns and problems.

However, watching movies aren’t always beneficial. Studies have shown that some people get real pleasure out of being scared by horror movies, but in various ways they may be risking their physical and mental health without even knowing it. When you watch a tense scene in a movie, your heart rate and blood pressure increase. Meanwhile this change in your brain chemistry reminds you of times when you were in a similar state, even if you have no idea you even had those memories. So if something horrible happens to you, being scared again by a movie can unintentionally make you experience it once more.

Scientists, politicians and parents have debated for decades if being exposed to movie violence leads to actual real-life violence. Overall the answer to that is probably still up in the air, but a new study seems to prove that watching aggression on screen can contribute to being a bully（土霸）in real life, even if it is just in the short term.

In conclusion, certain movies play a positive role, but not all movies do. It depends completely on the subject of the movie . So it’s always advisable to choose the movies concerning something positive.

I was in the sixth grade and had just moved to California from Alaska when I met Ms. Linda Jones. Most teachers seemed to     21     me; I was one more student among hundreds. Ms. Jones, however, took a     22     interest. “You can write,” she said, explaining that she wanted to move me into the honors English class. So did I.

A decade later, when my first novel was     23     , I went back to Ms. Jones’s classroom, handing her a copy of my book. “And I     24     this for you.” Ms. Jones began to cry     25     . She’d been considering early     26     , she said,     27     she felt she wasn’t having enough of an effect     28     her students. I didn’t know how to make Ms. Jones understand what she’d done for me:     29     her, I fell in love with Shakespeare. I learned how to compose an essay. It was her     30     in me that gave me the confidence to become a writer. I     31    her.

Fifteen years later, when I heard that she was     32     ready to retire, I attended her  33     party. All Ms. Jones needed to do was say a few words thanking her colleagues for coming.     34     , she stood up and made an exciting     35     that began like this: “For those of you complaining that     36     have changed, and that it’s harder to teach these days. You’re getting     37     and lazy. These kids haven’t changed. You have! Do not     38     these kids!”

When she finished her talk, everyone     39     hands! I went up to Ms. Jones and thanked her for changing my life all those years ago. I     40     that night that I was still, and would forever be, her student.

In ancient times, chopsticks were called “Zhu” . At that time, Chinese ancestors  41      (like) to steam or boiled food. It was difficult for them to use spoons to dip vegetables in the soup. So they     42     (clever) invented “Zhu” to nip food, thus it has become     43     most convenient tableware in their lives. The     44     (appear) of chopsticks said goodbye to those days     45     our Chinese ancestors had to use their hands to eat, so they featured the coming of civilization to food culture. The invention has many scientific     46      (theory). Chinese people are familiar     47     the use of chopsticks. Many foreigners are interested in but also puzzled about how to use it with facility.

The use of chopsticks has been a part of Chinese food culture. There are some manners that you must pay great attention to, or you may make mistakes and be laughed at. For example, don’t use them to poke at every dish without     48     (know) what you want.

Nowadays, chopsticks serve many new functions besides tableware. Skillful craftsmen painted beautiful sceneries on chopsticks     49    （make）them like fine artworks. Many people love to collect them as their treasure.

Chopsticks are small but they     50     (adore) by many people in the world. An interesting experiment shows that many joints and muscles are being exercised when you use it. They certainly make you cleverer, don’t they?