山西省太原市2023-2024学年高二下学期期末英语试卷

—No way! It's her fault!

 — Sorry, ____! It is too difficult for me. 

 As is known to all, plants normally grow in soil. However, soil is not always 1 . To solve the problem, people grow plants using a liquid nutrient solution (营养液) instead of soil. This 2  is called hydroponics (水栽法).  

 Today, hydroponics is becoming more popular all over the world. But the idea is not 3 . People have been growing plants in water for thousands of years. 4 , the ancient Aztecs made floating islands to grow crops. Egyptians also have historical records of growing plants in 5 .  

 Modern hydroponics can be both simple and complex. There is a good chance you practice hydroponics without even 6  it. Have you ever taken a cutting of a plant and stuck it in a glass of water 7  roots grew? People in some countries often 8  hydroponic vegetables. Large hot house businesses use advanced hydroponic techniques (技术) to 9  vegetables for the market. The basic ideas are the same: growing plants without the use of 10 .  

 Hydroponics has several 11 . First, larger amounts of crops can be produced. Over the years, farmers have found that it can help12  the production of crops. Another 13  thing is that hydroponics uses much less water than traditional methods. Some people also say that hydroponic vegetables are of higher quality.  

But the system's disadvantages do 14 . For a farm, hydroponic systems are generally 15 . Farmers will spend a lot of money setting up a new system. To keep the systems 16 , they have to spend more. 17 , plants are more likely to get sick. 18 move quickly since the plants share nutrient solutions. Another 19 of hydroponics is that the energy costs are high. 20 growing systems use the sun's energy, but hydroponic plants use oil-based energy.

If you're a girl between the ages of 7 and 17, and you're hoping to meet new friends, join the Circle of Friends Club, which offers a safe environment for young girls to meet friends of their own ages on the Internet.

 The site protects the email addresses of its members and allows girls to send mass emails to many friends at once. Since the club has members from everywhere, friends can be made locally, nationally or around the world. 

 It has a special interest search so that girls who are, for example, interested in sports can find other friends that have the same interest. Members can create their own page at Circle of Friends where they can introduce others to their family members or their friends.  

Those who would like to join the club need to pay $12 per year. At least you'll feel safe knowing that your daughter's privacy (隐私) is well protected here. There's also a short list of rules, and if the rules are broken, the member will not be accepted anymore.

 Rules are general: The club is only for girls who are between the ages of 7 and 17. You must stay active in the club — that is, you must send at least one letter to one of your pen friends every month. Anyone reported for using rude words in their letters will be banned.  

No one is allowed to put email addresses, last name, the phone number or the name of school in letters. It's also against the rules to ask a member to contact another member outside of the club. Every member needs to get the okay from their parents to become a member at the Circle of Friends Club.

Girls looking for friends won't find a safer site than the Circle of Friends Club. In addition, they'll have a chance to meet other girls from around the world, learn about their cultures, and start up friendships that could last forever.

People who realize and master the art of small talk can use it to improve relationships. Small talk can lead to "big" talk — more important discussions. Using small talk, you can achieve big results. But many people do have fears that hold them back from making small talk.

For one thing, those who refuse to make small talk usually fear the unknown. When I was little, my mom said, "Don't talk to strangers!" For some people, that childhood fear of strangers continues into adulthood.

 Suppose you are at a business networking event and have checked out who is there and found potential (潜在的) conversation partners. You're ready to make your move, but there are butterflies in your stomach. You are too frightened to introduce yourself to total strangers. 

Consider a different situation for the next networking event you attend. To overcome your nervousness, you can think of yourself as an event's host and not its guest. As a host, you would introduce yourself to people you don't know and introduce them to others. You can play the role of the host even though you are not the actual host. Get in the habit of holding out your hand first and saying, "Hi, my name is ..."

 Another reason why people refuse to open their mouth is the fear of rejection（拒绝）. Anytime you open your mouth and speak, you risk rejection. If you never talk to people, you won't be rejected. But if you never talk to people, you will also be very lonely. The best way I've found to overcome the fear of rejection is to focus on how I feel when I am accepted.  

 So ask yourself: what do I have to lose? Nothing! What do I have to gain? Possibly everything! Think back to when you first met your best friend or any important person in your life. How did it all start? You probably started with small talk. 

 Below are some comments from the community. Please feel free to add to the list.  

 ●Some fantasy readers are unhappy with their lives and think that they would be happier in another world. Someone who is not so successful in this world might be a hero or king in another world.  

 —Lucy 

●I like reading fantasy books because they provide me with a different point of view on the world. I like to think about it using the analogy (类比) of the house that you live in but will never be able to understand if you don't ever get outside and look at it from another perspective (视角).

 —Martin 

●You can see a lot of tiny details in fantasy books that you may somehow lose in your everyday life just because they aren't getting enough of your attention. Understand them and they'll make your life more colourful and interesting.

 —Jordan 

 ●A lot of fantasy is about the world we would like to see. Fantasy novels are extremely popular, but most popular with children. This is probably because of the natural curiosity and creative imagination in nearly every young person. Older readers might enjoy fantasy because of its imaginative scope. People can relate to the feelings and experiences of fantasy characters.  

 — Ahmed 

●I like reading fantasy because I have a great imagination which I find is better used while reading fantasy than in everyday life. In fantasy there is no real right or wrong. Furthermore, I believe there really is magic, but people just don't realise it because it works in subtle ways, and you may not recognize it for what it is.

 —Chris 

●Many people like to escape from the busy and noisy life and be attracted by a story which involves something special, unreal or different—possibly magic. People enjoy being in someone else's shoes—someone extraordinary, so that we can look at the world through another's eyes. You can switch off and enjoy letting your imagination run wild.

 — Emily 

 ◎Click here to add a comment.  

 Some people dry roses for craft(工艺) purposes. Others do it to keep those flowers, which are special for them. If you have received a beautiful rose bouquet from a very special person, you certainly want to keep those flowers with you for a longer period. . There are many different methods for drying roses. Here are some tips and guidelines.  

 . Air drying is perfect for those rose buds (花蕾) that are not open fully. All you have to do is to remove the leaves from the stems(茎) and tie the stems together with a thread. . It will take around one to two weeks for the roses to get dry. Once they dry completely, you can use them, but handle the dried roses with care, as they will be brittle after drying.  

 Microwave can also be used to dry roses and it is one of the quickest methods. All you have to do is to add silica gel (硅胶) to the bowl and coat the flowers with gel. . After that, take out the bowl and let it cool for another three to five hours.  

 A. The only solution is to dry those flowers.  

 B. People dry roses for a number of reasons. 

 C. This has become extremely easy with modern technology. 

 D. Air drying is one of the common methods adopted for drying roses. 

 E. Then hang these roses upside down, in that dark and dry area.  

 F. The next step is to microwave the roses for around two to three minutes at a low setting.  

 G. There are various methods of drying roses: air drying, drying in microwave and drying with drying agents. 

 Most animals have little  (connect) with animals of different kind，  they hunt them for food. Sometimes，however，two kinds of 48. (animal) come together in a partnership(伙伴关系),  does good to both of them .You may have noticed some birds  (sit) on the backs of sheep. This is not because they want a ride，but because they find easy food in the parasites (寄生虫) on sheep. The sheep allow the birds  (do) so because they remove the cause of discomfort. So although they can manage without each other，they do  (good) together. 

Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot manage without each other. is this in the corals (珊瑚) of the sea. In their skins they have tiny plants act as "dustman"，taking some of the waste products from the coral and giving in return oxygen (氧气) which the animal needs to breathe. If the plants (kill)，or are even prevented light so that they cannot live normally, the corals will die.

 增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号()，并在其下面写出该加的词。 

 删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。 

 修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。 

 注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。 

Far before the summer vacation began, I had been thinking about what to do it since I didn't have to go school for a couple of months. During the holiday, I finished my homeworks quite early. Then I thought it would be a good idea to finding a job to do for the rest of the boring holiday. I clearly remembered it was the first time I'd ever had the job. I spent a month in an office, main keying information into the company's database. Every day I just did the same thing but I try my best to love the work or continue. Although I found the job not interested and didn't earn many, I still learned a lot from it.

 Dear Li Hua,  

 How are you doing? 

I had a quarrel with my friend Bob last Monday, and we haven't said anything to each other since then. But I don't want to lose a good friend. What should I do?

 Yours, 

 Jack 

 注意：1. 词数：100-120；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3. 开头、结尾已给出，但不计入总词数。 

 Dear Jack, 

 …… 

 Yours, 

 Li Hua