江苏省前黄高级中学2015～2016第一学年度高二期末考试

英 语 试 题

满分：120分 考试时间：120分钟

第一部分：听力(共两节，满分20分)

第一节（共5小题；每小题1分，满分5分）

听下面5 段对话。每段对话后有一个小题,从题中所给的A、B、C 三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后,你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每段对话仅读一遍。

例: How much is the shirt?

A. ￡19.15 B. ￡9.18 C. ￡9.15

答案是 C。

1. How much do the tickets for the concert cost?

A. $80 B. $40 C. $60

2. What subject does the woman think is less difficult?

A. History. B. Mathematics. C. Literature.

3. What does the woman mean?

A. She is only too pleased to come.

B. She didn’t go in for mountaineering.

C. She was an excellent mountain-climber.

4. Where is the man going first?

A. To the Healey Supermarket. B. To the airport. C. To Canada.

5. What does the woman most probably think of the man?

A. Naughty. B. Kind-hearted. C. Careless.

第二节（共15小题；每小题1分；满分15分）

听下面5 段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有2至4个小题, 从题中所给的A、B、C 三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话前，你将有5秒钟的时间阅读各个小题；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的做答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。

听第6段材料，回答第6至7题。

6. What time is it now?

A. 11:00 am. B. 11:30 am. C. 12:00 noon.

7. Where does the conversation take place?

A. On the train. B. At the train station. C. At the restaurant.

听第7段材料，回答第8至9题。

8. Why can’t Adam go boating with the woman tomorrow?

A. He is busy preparing a speech contest.

B. He is taking a vacation in China now.

C. He has to work overtime tomorrow.

9. What will the man do tomorrow?

A. Reading a new book. B. Writing at home all day. C. Spending an hour in the park.

听第8段材料，回答第10至12题。

10. Why is the man surfing the Internet?

A. To get major news. B. To learn English. C. To get information.

11. What does the man prefer?

A. Engineering. B. Economics. C. Medicine.

12. When does the conversation probably take place?

A. On February 28. B. On March 30. C. On April 6.

听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。

13. What was the news about?

A. Jenny’s famous songs.

B. Jenny’s saving a baby’s life.

C. Jenny’s winning a music contest.

14. How much money did Jenny receive?

A. 2,500 dollars. B. 3,000 dollars. C. 5,000 dollars.

15. What do we know about the woman?

A. She performed at the TV station.

B. She is well known to the public.

C. She is an unknown songwriter.

16. How does the woman feel now?

A. Excited B. Surprised C. Envious

听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。

17. What was unusual about their first meeting?

A. The doctor was not very experienced.

B. The doctor hadn’t seen the medical reports.

C. The patient was misunderstood by the doctor.

18．How did the doctor treat the patient?

A. The doctor treated her with the help of her previous doctors.

B. The doctor always listened to her and believed her.

C. The doctor treated her with strong medicine.

19. What did the previous doctors think of her mental health?

A. Surprising B. Hopeful C. Serious

20. What did the doctor advise the patient to do?

A. To change her job.

B. To keep a closer relationship with her family.

C. To get married.

第二部分 英语知识运用（共两节, 满分35 分）

第一节 单项填空（共15小题；每小题1分, 满分15分）

请认真阅读下面各题，从题中所给的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。

21. For our future generations, we must show respect for _______ nature, increasing _______ amount of waste we recycle.

A. the, the B. /, an C. the, an D. /, the

22. Jack Ma, the founder and chairman of China’s Alibaba Group, has a $28.6 billion fortune, ______making him the richest person in China.

A. it B. one C. that D. which

23. David will succeed along the career ladder one day, I firmly believe, ______ he devote more energy to it.

A. would B. should C. could D. might

24. --- How do you find your trip to Kenya?

---We ______ there for a week; it’s a fantastic place and well worth visiting again.

A. stay B. stayed C. have stayed D. had stayed

25. ---I heard that your wife spent all afternoon yesterday cooking a special dinner for your wedding anniversary.

---Actually she was really ______ when I came home three hours late.

A. on cloud nine B. hot under the collar

C. green with envy D. over the moon

26. _________ in the adult ceremony, the senior students feel they are shouldering heavier responsibilities now.

A. Swear B. Sworn C. Having sworn D. To have sworn

27. Students are advised to keep the list of books near the desk for easy ________.

A. preference B. reference C. purpose D. function

28. My colleagues ________ the medical team and I found a vacant health centre, ________ we set up a temporary clinic center.

A. on; where B. for; which C. on; which D. for; where

29. Most people present at the meeting think poorly of the measures taken by the local government, which they think will ________ the worsening of the environment.

A. result from B. contribute to C. refer to D. go after

30. There will be a bow and arrow competition _________ to retell ________ the Plains Indians used to hunt for food.

A. designed; what B. designing; how C. designing; what D. designed; how

31. One of the goals is to ensure that clean water is ________ to everyone, as in many places water is not safe to drink ______ it is boiled.

A. important; until B. convenient; when

C. available; unless D. reliable; before

32. --- I’m calling to _______ our lunch appointment. It’s tomorrow at twelve o’clock, right?

--- Absolutely.

A. confirm B. acknowledge C. determine D. recognize

33. ---It is not a secret that CEOs of major companies earn a large amount each year.

--- I agree. ____ the hard economic times, it seems that their salaries have remained the same.

A. Apart from B. Thanks to C. Regardless of D. In regard to

34. How long do you think ______ the computer company brings out a new product?

A. it will be before B. will it be until

C. will it be when D. it will be that

35. ---Did you hear Tom was criticized for his spelling mistakes in his English composition?

---Yes, but a more careful person ______ so many mistakes.

A. wouldn’t make B. needn’t have made

C. shouldn’t make D. wouldn’t have made

第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的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。

I’ve always had strong opinions of how love should be expressed, but others had their own ways of showing care.

What I 36 most about visiting my boyfriend’s parents is the loud tick of the clock in the dining room as we   37   ate our meal. With so little conversation I was quick to   38   his family as cold. When we got into the   39   to go home, his father suddenly appeared.   40  , he began to wash his son’s windscreen. I could feel he is a caring man through the glass.

I learned another lesson about love a few years later. My father often  41   me early in the morning. “Buy Xerox. It’s a good sharp price,” he might say when I answered the phone. No pleasant   42  or inquiry about my life, just financial instructions. This manner of his   43  me and we often quarreled. But one day, I thought about my father’s success in business and realized that his concern for my financial security lay behind his   44   morning calls. The next time he called and told me to buy a stock, I   45   him.

When my social style has conflicted with that of my friends, I’ve often felt   46  . For example, I always return phone calls   47   and regularly contact with my friends. I expect the same from them. I had one friend who rarely called, answering my messages with short e-mails. I rushed to the   48   : She wasn’t a good friend! My anger   49    as the holidays approached. But then she came to a gathering I  50   and handed me a beautiful dress I had fallen in love with when we did some window-shopping the previous month. I was 51   at her thoughtfulness, and regretful for how I’d considered her to be  52  . Clearly I needed to change my expectations of friends.

Far too often, I ignored their  53   expressions, eagerly expecting them to do things in my  54  . Over the years, however, I’ve learned to   55    other persons’ love signs.

36．A. remember       B. enjoy           C. value            D. admire

37．A. excitedly        B. nervously       C. silently           D. instantly

38．A. regard          B. treat            C. take             D. think

39．A. bus            B. train            C. car              D. plane

40．A. punctually      B. carefully         C. proudly        D. coldly

41．A. visited         B. interrupted       C. warned           D. telephoned

42．A. greeting        B. meeting         C. apology           D. explanation

43．A. interested       B. angered         C. encouraged        D. surprised

44．A. long           B. short           C. warm             D. polite

45．A. praised         B. remembered     C. blamed            D. thanked

46．A. content         B. guilty          C. curious            D. disappointed

47．A. in order        B. in turn          C. without delay  D. without difficulty

48．A. feeling         B. suggestion      C. judgment           D. belief

49．A. disappeared     B. grew           C. helped            D. declined

50．A. opened         B. refused          C. hosted           D. invited

51．A. depressed       B. upset          C. fascinated D. shocked

52．A. uncaring        B. dishonest       C. unhappy           D. uncooperative

53．A. unique         B. common        C. pleasant           D. familiar

54．A. opinion        B. way             C. mind            D. life

55．A. send          B. read             C. give              D. express

第三部分：阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D)中， 选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

It’s often interesting to take a look at some of the lists that arrive toward the end of the year such as top devices, best gadgets, most desirable high-tech gift and more. Apart from cell phones and tablets, and Apple and Samsung products, this year many other gadgets made it on the most wanted list from Yahoo Tech and the most searched list from Bing. com. Read on to find out what they are.

Wireless headphone

Portable Bluetooth headphones represent the next evolution in headphone technology. If you have a compatible smartphone with Bluetooth, the obvious benefit is that you can get rid of the wires snaking from your backpack or pocket. Many of the wireless headphones in the market also have a built-in microphone for taking calls hands-free.

Product to buy: Beats Studio Wireless

Features: Signature look, and powerful audio performance with intense bass and high-mid boosting, plus plenty of accessories.

Price: 1898 yuan

Smartwatch

The primary advantage of a smartwatch over traditional watches is that they reduce how often you have to pull your phone out of your pocket. With it, the information on your smartphone goes straight to your wrist, and you can decide first if they are worth dealing with.

Product to buy: Pebble smartwatch

Features: Understated design, with easy setup and instant information, and customizable watch faces, plus synes（同步）with Android or IOS.

Price: $99 (about 612 yuan)

Portable Bluetooth speaker

Bluetooth speakers are steadily growing in popularity because they let you take the party anywhere. They can be paired with your music device, and they are able to withstand incidental bumps. Though small in size, Bluetooth speakers provide a steady soundtrack for even the lengthiest bacchanalia (狂欢)。

Product to buy: Logitech UE Boom

Features: Water and stain resistant, 360-degree sound, 15 hour battery life, with a variety of color patterns.

Price: 1499 yuan

Fitness band

Basically, fitness bands are smartwatches without the watch. They keep track of your exercise progress and, at the same time, allow you to monitor vitals such as your heart rate, calories burned and amount of time spent exercising. Some even monitor your sleep patterns.

Product to buy: Fitbit Flex

Features: Long battery life (five days), with silent vibrating alarm, and wireless syncing to smartphones.

Price: 898 yuan

56. How much money is he likely to spend on some of the products if a man is an enthusiastic musical fan?

A. 2510 yuan B. 3397 yuan C. 2397 yuan D. 1510 yuan

57. Which of the following statements is Not True according to the passage?

A. Tablets are on the most wanted list of high-tech products of this year.

B. Beats Studio Wireless features plenty of accessories.

C. Smartwatch and Fitness band are similar products to some extent.

D. All the products can sync with Android or IOS.

B

But while one-time events do govern a fair amount of our happiness, each event’s influence proves rather short-lived. People suppose that major changes like moving to California or getting a big raise will make them permanently better off. They won’t. Huge goals may take years of hard work to meet, and the struggle itself may be worthwhile, but the happiness they create dissipates after just a few months.

To review: About half of happiness is genetically determined. Up to an additional 40 percent comes from the things that have occurred in our recent past---but that won’t last very long.

That leaves just about 12 percent. That might not sound like much, but the good news is that we can bring that 12 percent under our control. It turns out that choosing to seek four basic values of faith, family, community and work is the surest path to happiness, given that a certain percentage is genetic and not under our control in any way. To go after the happiness within our reach, we do best to devote ourselves to faith, family, community and meaningful work.

58. It can be inferred from Paragraph 4 and Paragraph 5 that______.

A. most Americans feel unhappy

B. women are always happier than men

C. about 40 % of American women are very happy

D. traditional men are happier than open-minded women

59. The underlined word “dissipates” (Paragraph 9) probably means _______.

A. occur B. return C. disappear D. last

60. Among the origins of happiness, _______.

A. age and sex contribute the most B. values are under control

C. events hardly perform a function D. genes play a tiny part

61. The main purpose of this passage is to _____.

A. advocate the ways of seeking happiness

B. clarify the causes of lasting happiness

C. stress the importance of happiness

D. show the results of the study on happiness

C

Analysis of the composition of quicksand shows that there are four key ingredients—sand, obviously water, clay and salt. Together these materials form a structure resembling a house of cards, with large water-filled gaps between the sand particles, which are loosely glued in place by the clay. As long as it’s left alone, the structure remains stable. But as soon as it’s disturbed, by stepping on it, the clay changes from a jelly-like consistency to a runny liquid. The effect is the same as stirring a pot of yoghurt. Liquefying(溶解)the clay makes the quicksand about one million times runnier, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down, with you inside it.

Very quickly, the sand sinks to the bottom and the water floats to the top. This is where the salt comes in. When there’s enough salt present, as soon as the clay particles liquefy, electrical charges make them begin to stick together to form bigger particles and these also settle with the sand. Quicksand is a mixture which looks like solid, but behaves more like a liquid.

Despite its murderous reputation, quicksand does not such people under and swallow them, although it can hold a person in firm grip. The human body is more buoyant(有浮力) in quicksand than in water, and sooner or later anyone trapped in it will float.

Unlike most liquids, quicksand’s viscosity, or “runniness” can suddenly change if it comes under pressure, for example under a human foot. The surface gives way and the victim quickly sinks in up to the knees, surrounded by an area of dirty things that turns semi-solid around its victim. Escaping from the quicksand’s grip(紧握) requires a large amount of force. Without something solid to pull at, people often find they are stuck fast. Pulling at one leg simply makes the other one sink further.

So how do you escape from quicksand’s control? Stay still and call for help. Staying still stops you sinking any further, until--with luck--help arrives on the scene. If no one appears and you need to draw yourself out, gently lie down on your back until your body is floating on the sand. Next, roll over onto your stomach and pull yourself forwards with your hands, so that you gradually “swim” towards firmer ground. It is a slow and dirty business, but it works.

This technique has one barrier: it goes against a very powerful human nature. Faced with danger in the open, nine out of ten stay on their feet so that they can run away, in which case it can worsen the situation.

62. Which ingredient of the quicksand make someone trapped in it stuck and stuck fast?

A. Sand B. Clay C. Water D. Salt

63. From the passage we can learn that ________

A. as long as you are strong enough, you can pull yourself up from quicksand on your own

B. clay glues sand particles loosely, which makes quicksand stable, unless it is disturbed

C. because anyone trapped in quicksand will float, there is little possibility of him dying

D. looking like solid ground, quicksand is actually liquid

64. If someone is trapped in quicksand, what should he do?

A. Remain calm and wave for help

B. Stand in quicksand and get ready to run away as quickly as possible

C. “Swimming” is one of the best choices he can use to escape

D. Once in quicksand, lie down on his stomach immediately and swim slowly to safety

65. What might be the best title of the passage?

A. A human killer--quicksand B. How to escape from danger

C. An awful experience in quicksand D. What to do if trapped in quicksand

D

When I was eight or nine years old, I wrote my first poem.  

My mother read the little poem and began to cry. “Buddy, you didn’t really write this beautiful, beautiful poem!” Shyly, I said that I had. My mother poured out her welcome praise. Why, this poem was nothing short of genius!

What time will Father be home?” I asked. I could hardly wait to show him what I had accomplished. My mother said she hoped he would be home around 7. I spent the best part of that afternoon preparing for his arrival. First, I wrote the poem out in my finest handwriting. Then I used colored pens to draw a border around it. Then I confidently placed it right on my father’s plate on the dining table.

But my father did not return at 7. Seven-fifteen. Seven-thirty. My father had begun his motion-picture career as a writer. He would be able to appreciate my poem even more than my mother.

It was almost 8 o’clock when my father burst in. He was an hour late, but he could not sit down. I can see him now, a big Havana cigar in one hand, the rapidly disappearing drink in the other, calling down bitter words on his employees.

Suddenly, he paused and glared at his plate. There was a silence. He was reaching for my poem. I lowered my head and stared down into my plate.

“What is this?” I heard him say.

“Ben, a wonderful thing has happened,” my mother said. “Buddy has written his first poem. And it’s beautiful, absolutely amazing”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to decide that for myself,” Father said.

I kept my face lowered to my plate. It was only 10 lines long. But it seemed to take hours. I remember wondering why it was taking so long. I could hear him dropping the poem back on the table again. Now was the moment of decision.  

“I think it’s bad,” my father said.

I couldn’t look up. My eyes were getting wet.

“Ben, sometimes I don’t understand you,” my mother was saying. “This is just a little boy. You’re not in your studio now. These are the first lines of poetry he’s ever written. He need encouragement.”

“I don’t know why,” my father held his ground. “Isn’t there enough bad poetry in the world already? No law says Buddy has to become a poet.”

I couldn’t stand it another second. I ran from the dining room, threw myself on the bed and cried. That may have been the end of the anecdote(轶事) — but not of its significance for me.

A few years later I took a second look at that first poem, and unwillingly I had to agree with my father’s tough judgment. It was a pretty bad poem. After a while, I worked up the courage to show him something new, a short story. My father thought it was overwritten but not hopeless. I was learning to rewrite. And my mother was learning that she could disapprove of me without ruining me. You might say we were all learning. I was going on 12.

As I worked my way into other books and plays and films, it became clearer and clearer to me how fortunate I had been to have had a mother who said, “Buddy, it’s wonderful!” and a father who shook his head no and drove me to tears with his, “I think it’s bad.” In fact all of us in life need that mother force, the loving force from which all creation flows; and yet the mother force alone is incomplete, even misleading, finally damaging, without the father force to caution, “Watch. Listen. Review. Improve.” Between the two poles of affirmation (肯定) and doubt, both in the name of love, I try to follow my true course.

66. What did the mother think of the Buddy’s poem?

A. She was so moved that she cried.

B. She thought the poem was well written.

C. She considered Buddy had no talent for poetry.

D. She believed Buddy needed advice from his father

67. Which underlined word in the following sentences best reflects Buddy’s eagerness to show his father the poem?

A. Then I confidently placed it right on my father’s place on the dining table.

B. He would be able to appreciate my poem even more than my mother.

C. I wrote the poem out in my finest handwriting.

D. I could hardly wait to show him what I had accomplished.

68. The underlined sentence “My father held his ground” could best be replaced by ________.

A. My father began to explain his reasons

B. My father refused to change his opinion

C. My father thought his comment is unreasonable

D. My father got so angry that he rose to his feet

69. From the passage, we can infer that the father can be best described as ________.

A. cruel and stubborn B. cautious and strict

C. bad-tempered and rude D. loving and matter-of-fact

70. Which of the following statements do you think the author might agree with?

A. After the incident, the author stopped writing but tried his luck in plays and films.

B. The author only realized the significance of the incident after becoming a writer.

C. The incident helped the writer work his work further as a writer.

D. The incident completely changed the author’s course of life.

第word/media/image1.gif卷 （非选择题，共35分）

第四部分：任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填一个单词。

The most wonderful time of the year (the Christmas season) is also the most stressful for lots of people struggling to fit in increased end-of-the-year workloads, holiday parties, shopping, guest hosting, travel, and seeing friends and relatives who you’d otherwise avoid. Luckily, the same coping mechanisms that can help relieve stress and find better balance during the year also work for this holiday.

Here are four tips to finding work—life balance during this season.

1. Know and avoid your stressors(压力源).
If cooking for a large group, baking cookies, or Christmas shopping are your key stressors, don’t do them. Lots of grocery stores will help cater your next holiday meal. Bakeries exist for a reason, and gift cards are much appreciated by all. Stop trying to live up to someone else’s expectations of the holidays and stay merry by outsourcing the pain points.

2. Get flexible at work.
If you normally travel an hour each way at work, see if your boss will let you work from home in this special season to save time, get more done, and reduce your stress. Or ask if you can start work from home in the mornings and come to the office later in the day to avoid peak hours. Leave early and finish your day from the comfort of home, too.

3. Make your own list and check it twice.
Make a to-do list for yourself, for both work and life, then divide it up into categories like “must do,” “want to do,” and “feel obligated to do.” If you can remove any or all of your required list, the rest of your to-dos will start to look a lot easier.

Once you have your lists in order, it’s time to start crossing things off. In between your must-dos tasks, include a want-to-do task to break things up and re-energize yourself. Yes, this holiday is a time to give back to others and be selfless, but there’s still a bit of “self” in selflessness, isn’t there?

4. If you start to feel a cold coming on, come to a full and complete stop.
The best way to stop a cold from exploding into a weeks-long sickness is to stop it at the start. Unless a task or activity is an absolute necessity, cancel your plans, put away your to-do lists, and settle in for a long winter’s nap. A day of rest and enough sleep is the only thing you NEED right now. Feel bad about declining holiday invitations from your friends and family? You’re doing them a favor. Once people hear that you’re sick, they’ll be glad you stayed away — they don’t want to come down with a cold during the holiday any more than you do!

It is certain that you can feel less stressed in this hectic season when you stop expecting so much from yourself, because nobody puts so much expectation on you as you do to yourself. Trying to satisfy clients, co-workers, friends and family can be draining and can finally negatively impact you in many ways. When you simplify things up front, you relieve the stress off of yourself and everyone else in the process. Stop focusing on what you feel like you’re obligated to do, and start focusing on what you want and need to do, the load will get lighter and you will feel a lot merrier under the Christmas tree.

第五部分：单词拼写（共10小题；每小题, 0.5分，满分5分）

根据所给首字母或汉语提示写单词，使得句子的逻辑意义及语法均正确。

81. Though they lost their home and all their ___________(财产) in the storm, charities provided them with food and shelter in time.

82. We got to know each other at the conference and our friendship has steadily been s_______ by truth and devotion over the years.

83. Rowling declined, more than once, an i____________ to appear at the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

84. China has 56 ethnic groups. ___________(少数民族) celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

85. At that time, blacks were looked down upon and the government made law p___________ blacks from owning land.

86. The mountain range forms a natural _________(屏障) between the two countries.

87. These carpets are decorated with beautiful traditional patterns and can f_________ a high price on the international market.

88. If I had taken an a_______________ plan and had studied medicine, I would have a lot of medical knowledge.

89. They were defeated, at least ___________(暂时), in 2014, but they haven’t given up the fight.

90. Students advocated that there should be an ____________(足够的，充足的) supply of hot water.

第六部分：书面表达（满分20分）

为了抵制文化侵略，某些中学禁止中学生过圣诞节，不允许买贺卡，送礼物或举行任何庆祝活动，校方希望学生能重视中国的传统节日。中国学生应不应该过西方圣诞节？不同的人有不同的观点。

赞成者：通过互赠卡片和礼物来表达爱与感恩；同学之间关系更融洽和谐，增强了友谊；了解西方文化的途径，开阔视野。

反对者：浪费时间，金钱和精力；无法专注于学习

你的观点：我们应该如何看待中国的传统节日和西方的节日？

注意：词数150左右。书写清楚，语言规范，篇章连贯。

With the growing popularity of Christmas celebrations among young people in China, some schools have banned Christmas celebrations of any form to stress the importance of traditional Chinese festivals.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

参考答案

1-20 CCBAC ABACC BACAC ABBCA

21—25 DBBBB 26—30CBABD 31—35CACAD

36—55 ACACB DABBD DCCBC DAABB

56-57 BD 58-61 DCBA 62-65 BBCD 66-70 BABDC

四． 任务型阅读（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

71.Topic / Title / Subject 72. season / holiday 73. stress 74. avoided 75. expectations

76. flexible 77. matters/ counts 78. have/catch 79. necessary 80. focusing

五．possessions; strengthened; invitation; Minorities; prohibiting; barrier; fetch; alternative; temporarily; adequate

六．书面表达

With the growing popularity of Christmas celebrations among young people in China, some schools have banned Christmas celebrations of any form to stress the importance of traditional Chinese festivals.

Some people are in favor of celebrating Christmas, arguing that it is just a merry holiday when people get together and have fun with each other. We can express our love and gratitude to our beloved ones by sending cards or gifts with best wishes. Meanwhile, exchanging small gifts can contribute to a harmonious atmosphere as well as strengthen our friendship. More importantly, this is a good chance for us Chinese to expose ourselves to foreign cultures, which helps broaden our horizons.

Other people have the opposite view, thinking it necessary to forbid students from celebrating Christmas. For one thing, every year’s Christmas witnesses the classmates around me devote large amounts of time, money and energy to planning for it and choosing gifts. For another, it prevents us from focusing on our academic performance and interferes with studies.

On a personal note, Chinese traditional festivals should never be replaced by Western ones. Chinese traditional festivals are a gift from the past and we should stick to the culture of our nation. If we forget the origin, we are bound to lose our root. Therefore, I advocate that we should know more about the significance of the traditional festivals and make it a law to celebrate them.

[英语]江苏省前黄高级中学2015-2016学年高二上学期期末考试试题