广西钦州市重点中学2023-2024学年高二上学期期中考试英语试题

Scotland is packed with beautiful places to visit and you could honestly spend months and months exploring everything this wonderful country has to offer! Next I'm going to take you through some of the best places to visit in Scotland, based on where we have personally visited so far!

Glen Coe

If you asked me where my favourite place to visit in all of Scotland is... I would say, Glen Coe. The whole area of Glen Coe constantly had my face in shock due to the beauty that I was witnessing. It's just a stream of dramatic mountains, lakes, rugged beauty and more.

Fort William

Fort William is probably one of the most well-known places to visit in Scotland. It's a popular tourist destination thanks to being home to the UK's tallest mountain: Ben Nevis. Fort William is also the starting point for one of the world's most famous train rides: The Jacobite. Harry Potter fans will recognize it as the Hogwarts Express, and this train ride will take you through the beautiful countryside, crossing some iconic Harry Potter filming locations such as the Dumbledore's Grave and the Glenfinnan Viaduct!

Isle Of Skye

This island feels totally different from other parts of Scotland and is truly rugged and ready! There are many hot spots to explore including the Old Man of Storr, the Fairy Glen. I even stayed on a private island with its very own lighthouse, which was one of the coolest places I've ever visited and one of the most romantic places stay in Scotland.

Cairngorms National Park

This is the largest national park in the UK so it's another popular place to visit in Scotland and it's no surprise why. It's absolutely beautiful and there's so much happening at the Cairngorms National Park! From skiing or meeting local reindeers, you'll not go bored and you'll be surrounded by beauty the entire time.

Haley Curfman, 25, of Blackwell, Oklahoma, is a teacher at Blackwell Public School and last year she bought a plain(朴素的) white dress, which she set up a station in her classroom for her students to decorate, encouraging them to go and draw on the dress whenever they had free time. Haley set up a station at a table with the dress and some colored markers so that her students could draw on it, having first seen the idea on Pinterest.

After the kids had finished the design, she then surprised them all by wearing the dress to class, sharing pictures of herself in it on Facebook in a post that has since been shared over 200, 000 times.

For teachers looking to do something similar for their own students, Haley said that she bought the dress off Amazon for less than $ 20 about six months ago and pre-washed the dress before she started the project. She used markers from Walmart. But she said these things can be bought in other places. She said, "To do the project, I set up a station at a table with the dress and markers. It takes anywhere from two weeks to a month to complete as we just work on it here and there when time allows. You'd better give the students enough time so they don't have to hurry."

"Teachers have been sharing their dresses, T-shirts, etc. with me that they've been creating since the 1950s with the same idea. It is amazing, and I love the fact that you are sharing them with me! Thank you all so much for your kindness and support," she wrote on Facebook.

Asked why she came up with the idea, Haley told Scary Mommy. "We don't have art in our school, so, I always try to do little creative projects when possible."

People worldwide are living longer. Today, for the first time in history, most people can expect to live into their sixties and beyond. By 2050, the world's population aged 60 years and older is expected to total 2 billion, up from 900 million in 2015. Today, 125 million people are aged 80 years or older. By 2050, there will be almost this many (120 million) living in China alone, and 434 million people in this age group worldwide.

The pace of population ageing around the world is also increasing dramatically. France had almost 150 years to adapt to a change from 10% to 20% in the proportion of the population that was older than 60 years. However, places such as Brazil, China and India will have slightly more than 20 years to make the same adaptation. 

A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for societies as a whole. Additional years provide the chance to undertake new activities such as further education, a new career or a long ignored passion. Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and communities. Yet the extent of these opportunities and contributions depends heavily on one factor: health. 

There is, however, little evidence to suggest that older people today are experiencing their later years in better health than their parents. While rates of severe disability have declined in high­income countries over the past 30 years, there has been no significant change in mild or moderate disability over the same period. 

If people can experience these extra years of life in good health and if they live in a supportive environment, their ability to do the things they value will be of little difference from that of a younger person. If these added years are affected by declines physically and mentally, the results for older people and for society are more negative.

A new study suggests lightning strikes that hit Earth after its formation may have unlocked a necessary chemical element to support the beginning of life. Researchers say the lightning may have supplied enough phosphorus (磷) to Earth during the first billion years after the planet was formed. Scientists believe life started on Earth about 3.5 to 4.5 billion years ago.

Phosphorus is an important element for the formation of life. It helps form cell structures and supports DNA, the material present in nearly all living organisms. But on early Earth, phosphorus is believed to have been first locked inside minerals that cannot dissolve in water.

Until now, it was widely believed that meteorites (陨石) that struck Earth were mainly responsible for the presence of "bioavailable" phosphorus. Some meteorites contain a phosphorus mineral called "schreibersite", a highly reactive mineral that can form organic molecules.

But when lightning strikes the ground, it can create glassy rocks called "fulgurites" by super-heating and sometimes vaporizing rocks on the surface. This process frees the phosphorus locked inside. As a result, these "fulgurites" can contain "schreibersite", which can be dissolved in water, where life is thought to have formed.

The researchers say levels of phosphorus minerals caused by lightning strikes were found to have been higher about 

3.5 billion years ago. The researchers think this was about the age of the earliest-known fossils widely accepted to be those of microorganisms. Scientists believe the earliest bacteria-like organisms were formed in Earth's early waters. But there is a debate over when this happened and whether it happened in warm and shallow waters or in deeper waters.

New research does not completely cancel the theory that meteorites could have been another source of life-giving phosphorus. Meteor (流星) strikes around the time of the appearance of life are far less than thought a decade ago.

Most students seem to have considerable "test anxiety". If you do this, you will not be able to show what you are really able to accomplish. Here are some suggestions that you should consider.

Waiting until the night before a test to start studying is likely to increase your anxiety. Instead of waiting until the last minute, start studying as soon as a test is scheduled. With several days or even a week to prepare, you'll feel more relaxed because you have plenty of time to learn the materials.

Organize your materials

It's important to gather all of your materials，including your books, notes, and other studying tools before a big exam. Keeping them all in order and handy is a great way to make sure that you can reference and cross reference them.

Review your notes each night.

Reviewing your notes daily will help you to organize the materials for yourself. Don't expect that your understanding will come during the class. You need to spend time thinking about the course outside of class.

Get a good night's sleep before the exam.

Staying up too late the night before an exam is a bad idea, in general. If you do just one thing, this is it: get enough sleep the night before your exam. Sleep, particularly deep sleep, is critical to memory formation. Make it a practice to get a good night's rest after any intense day of learning and studying.

A. Draw up a schedule.

B. Learning simply doesn't work that way.

C. Leave yourself plenty of time for studying.

D. Most students suffer mental illness when preparing for a test

E. It will help your brain to keep as much information as possible after a good night's sleep.

F. Many talk themselves out of doing well before they even have the exam.

G. This will also make your life a lot easier when you are buried in your studying.

Last year, I attended a class and discussed the topic of "paper books or e-books" with my classmates. The discussion was lively, but was left1 because of several pros and cons (利弊) of both types of books and the personal2 of different students.

According to an article from LA Times, a study discovered that 92% of 300 college students in America and other three countries 3 paper books. Many participants reported they had headaches for long screen time and are easily4 when siding colorful pages. 

I5  that the 92 percentage is true, not just because it is the result of a study. Paper books can6  another perspective (感受) to you reading experience through the7 smell of the book, the feel of the8 between your fingertips and the sense of progress being made throughout your reading. 

However, pleasure comes at a9 Physical books aren't cheap10 much room. As a person who moves often and loves written words, it can be a big11 to move my mini library from one place to another, not to mention the money to buy those books.12 , besides taking up less space, e-books are more13 than traditional books. Yet those14 didn't keep my interest for long. Nothing 15 the comforting feeling of curling up (蜷缩) with a hot cup of tea and a book.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics has left a deep (impress) on people across the globe. At Beijing 2022, a total of 2, 877 athletes from 91 countries and regions (compete) for 109 gold medals. "Athletes competed (brave) to exceed limits, setting a number of new world records and Olympic records. This is vivid representation of the Olympic motto-Faster, Higher, Stronger, Together," said Cai Qi, president of the Beijing organizing committee.

Beijing is the first city (host) both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Besides the competitions, the unique charm of Beijing and the thoughtful services which the city offered to all participants (value). As the first global multi-sport event held as scheduled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beijing Winter Games attached great importance the health and safety of all participants. "Our COVID-19 policy has been (effect), setting a successful example for other major international events held during the pandemic," Cai said.

The Beijing Games theme is Together for a shared future have also left the city with rich legacies (遗产), (include) engaging 346 million people in ice and snow sports as well as hosting the Games in a more sustainable way.

注意：1. 词数80左右 2. 可适当增加细节（词汇：社团： Society 主持人：host）

Dear Sir or Madam,

Yours sincerely ，

Li hua

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old son. Suddenly a crow (乌鸦) landed on their window.

The father asked his son, "What is that?" The son replied. "That is a crow."

After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time, "What is this?" The son said, "Father, I told you just now. It's a crow."

After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for third time, "What is this?" This time, the son was irritated (生气地) and said to his father in a low and cold tone, "It's a crow, a crow."

After a moment, the father yet again asked his son for the fourth time, "What is this?" This time his son shouted in his father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again? I have told you already, ‘IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"

A minute later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered (破旧的) diary, which hadd kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page. When they read it, the following words were written in the diary:

"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow suddenly landed on the window edge. My son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied him 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question. I didn't at all feel irritated, but instead felt a deep affection for my innocent son."

注意：1．续写词数应为150词左右。      2．请按格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Paragraph 1:

 After    reading the diary,

Paragraph 2:

Feeling ashamed, the son got down on his knees（跪下） before his father.