湖南省2025届普通高中学业水平合格性考试模拟卷英语（五）

Chess is a two-player game. One player uses the white pieces, and the other uses the black pieces. Each piece moves in a special way. Each player has a piece called the King. A player can only move one piece at a time. And he can't move again until the other player moves. The game ends when a player loses the King. There are some more rules.

Some people think chess is more than a game. They think it makes people's mind stronger, because good chess players are good at using their heads. They usually think about what the other player will do next. These skills are useful both in chess and in life. Chess is a kind of exercise for the mind.

Chess is not just for people. Computer began to play chess in the 1970s. At first, they didn't play well. Later, they grew much stronger. In 1997, a computer beat the best player in the world for the first time. It was a computer called Deep Blue. Deep Blue was big. Chess surely has a long way to go. Don't you think so?

Many Chinese enjoy eating chilies, but do you know that this spicy vegetable could also be dangerous? A 34-year-old US man was killed after eating a Carolina Reaper, the hottest chili in the world. After taking just a small part of the chili, the man had a serious headache in the following days.

In fact, eating spicy food causes stomachaches and headaches. But if chilies are bad for people, why do they like to eat this vegetable? That's because there are some special things in chilies. In some cases, eating chilies can make people happy.

And chilies are good in another way. Scientists found that the death rate (死亡率) of those who eat spicy food once or twice a week is 10% lower than those who don't eat it. So they suggest people can eat more spicy food to build us up and bring less death risk at an early age. Don't worry if you love spicy food. Chilies are in fact good for us.

Ways to Express Your Thanks

Expressing thanks is very important. But many people don't know how to do that. Maybe you have difficulty in expressing yourself. Here are some useful ways for you.

If you are too shy, you can write down some words on the card to express your feelings. You can also draw some pictures on it. The card with pictures will be beautiful. The beautiful card will show your feelings.

Send a gift

If somebody helps you, you can buy him or her a gift. The gift can show your thanks. It may not be expensive, but it's the thought that counts.

Sometimes, you may forget to say "Thank you" to your roommate. You can leave a message on the door to show your thanks. Seeing the message, your roommate will be happy. In this way, the relationship between you and your roommate will become closer.

If you can't say "Thank you" to your friend face to face; you can write an email. Even if your email is short, it may get your friend moved.

A. Make a card.

B. Write an email.

C. Leave a message.

D. Share your story.

Lucy was a very1 girl. She always sat at the back of the classroom,2 or taking notes. Every Monday morning, there would be a special show in her class and one student would be3 to make a speech about his or her dream. Miss White hoped that Lucy could have a try the next week. But she refused.

"I know that it seems4 for you, but it will help you build up your confidence, " said Miss White. Lucy was lost in thought.

The next day, Lucy came to Miss White's office. Miss White was5 that she would take the chance. Miss White red-penciled her manuscript of speech, corrected her6 , and even helped with her body language. She advised Lucy to practice, and to7 that she was speaking confidently in front of her8 . For a whole week, Lucy practiced speaking in front of her imaginary friends and teacher. Behind the locked door of her bedroom, she told them about her9 .

Finally, Monday arrived.10 Lucy was called upon to give her speech, she stood up and walked to the front of the class without any notes, in a show of confidence. Lucy was successful. From that day, Lucy's life changed for the better.

The Paris Olympics has come to an end. It is a chance for athletes to show their (skill).

Zheng Qinwen, from Hubei, is the (one) Chinese and Asian player to win the women's singles tennis gold. 21-year-old girl started playing sports from an early age. "I was fat as a kid and I often fell ill, so my parents told me (choose) one sport to play. I began with table tennis but (quick) looked for other sports. I had tried badminton, basketball and then tennis," Zheng said.

At the age of six, Zheng went to watch 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with her family. She was (excite) all the time. But when it came to tennis, Zheng just sat there and (think)about something. That was the time Zheng became sure about her interest in tennis.

After that, Zheng began to spend more time (play) tennis and she had a talent for it. She took Li Na, a great tennis player in China, as her model. Zheng also dreamed becoming a great tennis player. Now, she has realized her dream.

You can read the Phoenix(凤凰) Ancient Town in Shen Congwen's books. You can see the city's image in the famous paintings by a great Chinese painter Huang Yongyu.你也能听到它 in the songs by Song Zuying, a well-known Chinese folk singer. The ancient city of Phoenix is obviously a colorful place full of humanistic culture which is passing from generation to generation.The beautiful land feeds the people, therefore, people there have outstanding personalities. One of China's greatest masters portrayed(描绘) his homeland, "the ancient Phoenix city", in his book as a poem, a picture, a dream and a song. This book was called The Border Town.It was an amazing book written in simple words. Because of the book, this small town is now well known in the world.

虽然凤凰古城不是很大, it is still the most aspiring(理想的) tourist destination for many visitors. On the other hand,it is also the second home of many people. This ancient city has been waiting for you for a thousand years. This is such a fascinating place that you cannot miss.

注意：1.词数80左右；

2.开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数；

3.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Peter,

It's great to receive your e-mail.

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Yours,

Li Hua