陕西省千阳县2022-2023学年高一下学期期中英语试题

 While tea may have its origins in Asia, now it has found its way into their food culture and traditions in many countries. It is a special way of connecting people all over the world in different ways and ceremonies. That finally all results in a group of people sitting together and enjoying a cup of tea.  

 Chinese tea culture 

 Since China is considered as the birthplace of tea, it is no wonder that Chinese tea culture is rich in history and tradition. Today, Chinese tea continues to be used in Chinese medicine and is commonly used on both formal and informal occasions either for personal enjoyment or as a Chinese cultural tradition.   

 Japanese tea culture 

 Japan also has a long history with tea, especially Japanese Matcha, which is a kind of ground green tea. Japanese tea is commonly used in Japanese tea ceremonies and only in recent years has become popular in western culture.  

 British tea culture 

 When it comes to British tea, British tea culture is what comes to mind. A hot cup of Earl Grey tea often serves with a little milk and a biscuit in the afternoon as a pick-me-up for the day, which makes you feel better and more energetic. Even though tea may not be native to England, this British tea tradition is still going strong today.  

 Moroccan tea culture 

 When you visit Morocco, it is hard to miss the outstanding tea culture that is such a special way to welcome guests. Before any gathering, a pot of mint(薄荷)tea is always prepared and served among the host and guests. This is an expression of Moroccan tradition and kindness, which should always be accepted by guests as a sign of appreciation and respect to the host.  

Last year I went to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, and it blew my mind. It had been my dream to attend the famous carnival for many years, so I was excited. However, the moment I arrived, I was a little bit nervous because there were so many people on the streets. They say that five or six million people come to Rio during carnival time and about two million of them are on the streets on any given day. Luckily, I had a local guide, my sister's friend Ronnie. He said he would take care of me and show me around at the carnival. He did not let me down.

Well, the carnival is all about the samba. It's a style of music and dance which has its origins in Africa. Lots of Africans were used as slave labor by the Portuguese when Brazil was being conquered, so this mixed culture of African, Latin and European styles is really strong here. Samba music is usually fast and exciting with a lot of drums and harmonic vocals(和声).It's the kind of music that you couldn't help dancing to. And I was learning that as I followed Ronnie through the crowd, I couldn't help moving my hips and shoulders.

 Ronnie had got us tickets for the samba parade inside the Sambadrome where the top samba schools compete for the championship, but we still had a long way to go through the street parties. He said most people enjoy the carnival by making their own parties in the street. About the samba parade, twelve main teams compete for the championship, and if they win, their performance will be talked about for years to come.  

So, you must be wondering how it was. Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you. Ronnie and I never made into the Sambadrome. We spent the day moving from one street party to another. There were more snacks, more drinks and lots of dancing. Do I regret missing the main parade? Not at all. I experienced the carnival like the locals, and it was truly amazing.

 Gong Linna, a famous Chinese musician and founder of Chinese New Art Music, put her music teaching methods into practice for the first time at the Tracing Roots(寻根) practice concert of the Affiliated High School of Peking University on May 23.  

The first song of the concert, Search High and Low, refers to the classical poem Li Sao, "The road ahead will be long. I shall search high and low." "It's arranged to be sung in the beginning by all performers, showing that we should all search high and low for our roots," Gong Linna says.

 To explore the education and popularization of Chinese music, in 2017, Gong Linna established a research and development team, which includes musicologist(音乐学家), Du Yaxiong, and music historian, Zhao Zhongming, to discuss her music teaching methods and summarize the vocal skills of Chinese music.  

Gong Linna believed that popularization of Chinese music should depend on primary and secondary schools rather than music schools. The children's strong love for music and their outstanding performance amazed Gong Linna, "When singing, they are completely concentrated on the music. Music brings light and richness to one's spiritual world. So, learning to sing is never about passing examinations, but about enjoying the music."

Lu Yueming, a teacher of the school's art center, said, "The children worked really hard and kept in mind Gong Linna's instructions(讲授).Seeing their performance, I know that they truly fell in love with traditional Chinese music. I hope more Chinese students can benefit from the teaching practice in the near future."

"Seeing the children perform my pieces, I realized I should write more songs for them," Lao Luo, Gong Linna's husband said proudly. "It's a great encouragement for me to see how much they like the songs, and they really need content related to Chinese culture." Speaking about her future plans, Gong Linna told the reporter she would like to further popularize her teaching methods and Chinese music. "Children should learn about the beauty of Chinese music. Only when you know about your own sounds, can you have cultural confidence," she said at the end of the interview.

Nowadays with the development of technology, people have gradually depended on the mobile phones seriously. Many people, especially young adults, like to use social media to connect with others. However, everyone takes no notice of an important point. That's face-to-face communication between people is missing.

 Social media is all about connecting with others. But a new study suggests that too much social media use makes people feel alone and lonely. The study finds that heavy use of platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram leads to isolation among young adults.  

 In the study Brian Primack and his team interviewed 1,787 U.S. adults aged 19 to 32 about their use of social media platforms. Surprisingly, people that spend more time on social media feel lonelier than others.  

Tom Kersting, a psychotherapist(心理治疗师), said "Although people think being on social media all the time makes them connected to others, they are actually disconnected, because the more time one spends behind a screen, the less time one spends face-to-face."Kersting continued. "They are spending a lot of time looking at everyone else's posts, where they are, where they are going and what they are doing. The constant connection to others' perfect life experiences causes feelings of being left out, and of being lonely."

So what's the answer? "It's simple," says Kersting, "All you need to do is to have a strong will. The solution to this is to refuse the addiction to looking at everyone else's life. Just focus on your own life, where you're going, what you are grateful for, and what you want to achieve in this world. Then go out and do it, and stop wasting so much time comparing."

Music is one of the most interesting art forms on earth. We enjoy music because it makes us feel great.. We thought we'd take some time out to explore exactly how beneficial music is to your language development skills. Below is a list of all the ways that listening to music can improve your English skills.

Strengthen your vocabulary and listening skills.

When listening to a song, you'll pick up new words that you haven't heard before. Listening to a new song per week can help you learn 52 songs a year. Those songs are full of new vocabulary and phrases that are difficult to forget. For example, listening to a song like "Friday, I'm in Love" is a great way to remember the days of the week!. Music can help your brain react more quickly to hearing English.

Perfect your pronunciation.

Once you have learned the lyrics, the words of a song, you can practice your pronunciation and explore different accents (口音). . Singing will help you to learn their correct pronunciation of the words and will also help you remember easily the new vocabulary you have learned.

Catch obvious grammar mistakes.

If you have a good eye for mistakes, you can find many grammar "exceptions" songwriters usually use. Sometimes singers need to adapt the lyrics to the rhythm of the song. Therefore, they may be creative enough to use grammatical mistakes on purpose. It's not funny when you catch them.

Music can also increase your cultural understanding. Many songs talk about great stories and can teach you a lot about love, life, tradition, history, philosophy, literature, and more. You can find many great examples of a storytelling song on the Internet.

A. Discover more about English culture.

B. But rather it's a good way to practice your English.

C. This exercise will also develop your listening skills.

D. Listening to songs can help you recover from illness.

E. Those accents depend on the areas the singers come from.

F. Write some storytelling songs to improve your English skills.

G. But did you know it is also a great way to help you learn English?

 Our family enjoyed a beautiful houseplant for over thirty years. It had stayed with us through1 years and good times, pain and joy. I had never thought of 2 it.  

 However, two weeks ago, we3 some changes in its leaves, which began to lose color. We watered and looked after it4 . There was no hope of5 for the plant. We finally picked a few almost dead leaves and6 replanting them in another small pot.  

 What7 us was that these leaves planted in the new place grew strong. In order to know the reason why the houseplant died, we dug the dead plant out of the pot. Then, it became8 to us that its roots were in disorder, completely tangling up(缠绕). Our once-beautiful plant died because it grew out of its environment. We now realized that it became root-bound and had no more room for their roots to grow in its pot.  

 People can become root-bound, too. Those who9 personal growth or development often want to make10  that can lead to greater achievements or much more happiness. However, they more often find they outgrow their environment and want to11 . Their view becomes wider and they need12 environment to live in. They need people who will make 13  for their growth. If they cannot be14 , some problems are sure to appear. 

 So if your new-found growth causes you to give up the old ways, you may need to 15 you are bigger now, and need to have a bigger stage for personal growth or development.  

In much of Asia, especially the so-called "rice bowl" cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

 Chopsticks are usually two long, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might (make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine various hardwoods and metal (create) special designs.  

 The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked their food in large pots, (use) twigs(树枝) to remove it. Over time, the population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly.  

 Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which (gradual) turned into chopsticks.  

 Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, lived from roughly 551 to 479 B.C., influenced the (develop) of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killings and (be) too violent for use at the table.  

 Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people traditionally eat  

 their hands.  

注意：
1. 词数 80 左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

A MOTHER'S DAY SURPRISE

The twins were filled with excitement as they thought of the surprise they were planning for Mother's Day. How pleased and proud Mother would be when they brought her breakfast in bed. They planned to make French toast(吐司/烤面包片) and chicken porridge. They had watched their mother in the kitchen. There was nothing to it. Jenna and Jeff knew exactly what to do.

 The big day came at last. The alarm rang at 6 a.m. The pair went down the stairs quietly to the kitchen. They decided to boil the porridge first. They put some rice into a pot of water and left it to boil while they made the French toast. Jeff broke two eggs into a plate and added in some milk. Jenna found the bread and put two slices into the egg mixture. Next, Jeff turned on the second stove burner to heat up the frying pan. Everything was going smoothly until Jeff started frying the bread. The pan was too hot and the bread turned black within seconds. Jenna threw the burnt piece into the sink and put in the other slice of bread. This time, she turned down the fire so it cooked nicely.  

Then Jeff noticed steam shooting out of the pot and the lid starting to shake. The next minute, the porridge boiled over and put out the fire. Jenna panicked(恐慌). Thankfully, Jeff stayed calm and turned off the gas quickly. But the stove was a mess now. Jenna told Jeff to clean it up so they could continue to cook the rest of the porridge. But Jeff's hand touched the hot burner and he gave a cry of pain. Jenna made him put his hand in cold water. Then she caught the smell of burning. Oh dear! The piece of bread in the pan had turned black as well.

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

 As the twins looked around them in disappointment, their father appeared.  

 The twins carried the breakfast upstairs and woke their mother up.