A.the fossil appeared soon after the birth of the earth B.the fossil formed soon after the earth’s first life C.life formed earlier than the newly found fossil D.life appeared about half a billion years ago
3. What is Abigail Allwood’s attitude towards the newly found fossil?
A.Neutral. C.Objective.
B.Sceptical.
D.Supportive.
4. According to the passage, ______.
A.the previous fossils are a geologic quirk
B. the previous fossils are made up of stromatolites C. the newly found fossils come from Western Australia D. the newly found fossils have a history of 3.7 billion years 【语篇解析】文章介绍科学家发现距今37亿年前的化石。
1.D【解析】词义猜测题。根据文章第三段的句子＂It gives us an idea how our planet evolved＂这让我们了解 星球是怎么形成的，下文是生命是怎么开始的。可知，＂gained a foothold＂ 意为＂开始＂。故选D。
2.C【解析】推理判断题。根据第四段的句子＂the newly found fossil is far too complex to have developed soon after the planet’s first life forms, he said.＂可知，生命形成要早于新发现的化石。故选C。
3. B【解析】 观点态度题。根据文章最后一段的句子＂She said the evidence wasn’t conclusive enough that it was life and not a geologic quirk(地质巧合).＂可知，Abigail Allwood 对于新发现的化石态度是怀疑的。故选B。
Passage 4（2017届江苏省苏州市高三模考）
体裁 记叙文 话题 文化差异带给人们的影响 词数 难度 建议时间 743 ★★★★☆ 8分钟 After much thought，I came up with a brilliant plan.I worked out a way for Rich
16
to meet my mother and win her over.In fact，I arranged it so my mother would want to cook a meal especially for him.
Rich was not only not Chinese and he was a few years younger than I was.And
unfortunately，he looked much younger with his curly red hair，smooth pale skin，and the splash of orange freckles（雀斑） across his nose.He was a bit on the short side，compactly built.In his dark business suits，he looked nice but easily forgettable，which was why I didn’t notice him the first year we worked together at the firm.But my mother noticed everything.
＂So what do you think of Rich？＂I finally asked，holding my breath. She tossed the eggplant in the hot oil，angry hissing sound.＂So many spots on
his face，＂she said.
＂They are freckles.Freckles are good luck.＂I said a bit too heatedly in trying
to raise my voice above the noise of the kitchen.
＂Oh？＂She said innocently. ＂Yes，the more spots the better.＂
She considered this a moment and then smiled and spoke in Chinese：＂When you
were young，you got the chicken pox.So many spots，you had to stay home for ten days.So lucky，you thought.＂
I couldn’t save Rich in the kitchen.And I couldn’t save him later at the dinner
table.
When I offered Rich a fork，he insisted on using the slippery ivory
chopsticks.Halfway between his plate and his open mouth，a large chunk of redcooked eggplant fell on his brand new white shirt.
And then he helped himself to big portions of the shrimp and snow peas，not
realizing he should have taken only a polite spoonful.
He declined the new greens，the tender and expensive leaves of bean plants. He
thought he was being polite by refusing seconds, when he should have followed my father’s example，who made a big show of taking small portions of seconds，thirds and even fourths，always saying he couldn’t resist another bite and then groaning he was so full he thought he would burst.
17
But the worst was when Rich criticized my mother’s cooking and he didn’t even
know what he had done.As is the Chinese cook’s custom，my mother always made modest remarks about her own cooking.That night she chose to direct it toward her famous steamed pork and preserved vegetable dish，which she always served with special pride.
＂Ai!This dish not salty enough，no flavor，＂she complained，after tasting a
small bite.
This was our family’s cue to eat more and proclaim it the best she had ever
made.But before we could do so，Rich said，＂You know，all it needs is a little soy sauce.＂And he proceeded to pour a riverful of the salty black stuff on the china plate，right before my mother’s horrified eyes.
And even though I was hoping throughout the dinner that my mother would somehow
see Rich’s kindness，his sense of humor and boyish charm.I knew he had failed miserably in her eyes.
Rich obviously had a different opinion on how the evening had gone.When we got
home，I was still shuddering，remembering how Rich had firmly shaken both my parents’hands with that same easy familiarity he used with nervous new clients.＂Linda，Tim，＂he said，＂we’ll see you again.＂My parents’names are Lindo and Tin Jong，and nobody except a few older family friends ever calls them by their first names.
＂What did she say when you told her？＂I knew he was referring to our getting
married.
＂I never had a chance，＂I said，which was true.How could I have told my mother
I was getting married，when at every possible moment we were alone，she seemed to remark on how pale and ill he looked.
Rich was smiling.＂How long does it take to say，Mom，Dad，I am getting married？＂ ＂You don’t understand.You don’t understand my mother.＂
1. Which is NOT the reason why the author didn’t tell her mother she was getting married ?
A. She didn’t have a chance to tell her mother.
18
B. Her mother disliked Rich’s freckled face.
C. Mother was impressed by his boyish charm and humor. D. She was shocked by Rich’s violation of cultural taboo. 2. What does the underlined word＂shuddering＂most probably mean？ A. Hesitating. C. Shaking.
B. Regretting.
D. Reflecting.
3. What can be the best title of the story？ A. Rich Met My Mother
B. East VS West D. Of Table Manners
C. Chinese Family Gathering
4. The author wrote this story in a/an tone. A. poetic
B. humorous D. objective
C. pessimistic
1.C【解析】细节理解题。根据And even though I was hoping throughout the dinner that my mother would
somehow see Rich’s kindness，his sense of humor and boyish
eyes.可知我希望妈妈看到他的孩子
charm.I knew he had failed miserably in her 气和幽默，但是妈妈并没有这么感觉，故选C。
2.C【解析】词义猜测题。根据When we got home，I was still shuddering，remembering how Rich had firmly
shaken both my parents’hands with that same easy
familiarity he used with nervous new clients.及＂I never had a chance，＂I said，which was true.How could I have told my mother I was getting married.可知我在
犹豫什么时候告诉妈妈我要结婚了，故选C。
3.A【解析】 主旨大意题。本文主要讲述了里琦见我妈妈的过程中发生的一系列事情，故选A。
4.B【解析】推理判断题。全文写了我带里琦见我妈妈的经过，用幽默的基调写出了所发生的事，故选B。
19
Passage 1
体裁 记叙文 话题 感恩并善待父母 词数 358 难度 建议时间 ★★☆☆☆ 6分钟 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’s a crow.＂
After a few minutes, the father asked his son for the second time,＂What is that?＂The son said,＂Father, I told you just now. It is a crow.＂ After a little while, the father asked his son the same question for the third time, ＂What is that?＂ This time, the son 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 that?＂ This time his son shouted at the 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 a diary, which he had kept since his son was born. On opening a page, he asked his son to read that page.
＂Today my little son aged 3 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 did not at all feel angry, but instead felt affection for my son.＂
If your parents reach old age, do not look at them as a burden, but speak to them gently, and be kind to them. From today say this aloud, ＂I want to see my parents
20