2021届高三5月最后一卷英语试题 word含答案

高三英语第 1页共 8 页 2021 届高三 5 月最后一卷 英语试题 本试卷共 8 页，考试时间：120 分钟 全卷满分：150 分 注意事项： 1.答题前，先将自己的姓名、座位号填写在试卷和答题卷上，并将条形码粘贴在答题卷上的 指定位置； 2.选择题的作答：每小题选出答案后，用符合要求的 2B 铅笔把答题卷上对应题目的答案标号 涂黑；非选择的作答：用符合要求的签字笔直接答在答题卷上对应的答题区域内。写在试卷、草 稿纸和答题卷的非答题区域均无效； 3.考试结束后，请将试卷和答题卷一并上交。 第Ⅰ卷（选择题） 第一部分 听力（共两节，满分 30 分） 做题时，先将答案标在试卷上。录音内容结束后，你将有两分钟的时间将试卷上的答案转涂 到答题卡上。 第一节（共 5 小题；每小题 1.5 分，满分 7.5 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。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. What kind of sports did the man like very much? A. Football. B. Tennis. C. Basketball. 2. How will the man go to Hong Kong from Shanghai? A. By air. B. By subway. C. By bus. 3. Where does the conversation most probably take place? A. In a laboratory. B. In a hospital. C. In a lawyer’s office. 4. What happened to the man? A. He was asked to go back home. B. He caught a bad cold days ago. C. He gave the bug to his workmates in the office. 5. What do we know about the man? A. He hasn’t got the chance to perform. B. He doesn’t have much time to practice. C. He is sure of winning the contest. 第二节（共 15 小题；每小题 1.5 分，满分 22.5 分） 听下面 5 段对话或独白。每段对话或独白后有几个小题，从题中所给的 A、B、C 三个选项 中选出最佳选项。听每段对话或独白前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题 5 秒钟；听完后，各 高三英语第 2页共 8 页 小题将给出 5 秒钟的作答时间。每段对话或独白读两遍。 听第 6 段材料，回答第 6、7 题。 6. How was the rain last month? A. It had been raining for half a month. B. It rained heavily and washed away the soil. C. The rainfall was half the monthly average. 7. What is the season now? A. Autumn. B. Summer. C. Spring. 听第 7 段材料，回答第 8、9 题。 8. What do we know about the walking shoes? A. They’re sold with a pair of socks. B. They’re soft because of the material. C. They’re too loose without the inner sole. 9. What is the man unsatisfied with? A. The shoes polish. B. The original shoelaces. C. The color of the shoes. 听第 8 段材料，回答第 10 至 12 题。 10. What does the man ask the woman to do while he is dialing? A. Make a shopping list. B. Arrange the place for the party. C. Find some fun things for the party. 11. Who won’t come to the party? A. David. B. Jane. C. David’s girlfriend. 12. What will the man do? A. Call those boys once more. B. Go to visit David’s girlfriend. C. Go shopping with the woman. 听第 9 段材料，回答第 13 至 16 题。 13. What is the man? A. An inventor. B. A professor. C. A reporter. 14. Who is Hermione Granger based on? A. The woman. B. One of the woman’s best friends. C. The woman’s favorite teacher. 15. What was beyond the woman’s expectation? A. The publication of the Harry Potter books. B. The popularity of the Harry Potter books. C. The inspiration for the Harry Potter books. 16. How different will the woman’s future books on Harry Potter probably be? A. Rather exciting. B. More realistic. C. Rather scary. 听第 10 段材料，回答第 17 至 20 题。 17. What is the passage mainly about? A. A visit to Arabs. B. The business in Arab countries. C. The Arab customs. 18. What is an unpleasant behavior for Arabs? A. Talking business immediately. B. Having refreshments before talking. C. Discussing business in front of strangers. 高三英语第 3页共 8 页 19. What should people do when a meeting is interrupted? A. Stop talking and leave. B. Pretend not to hear and go on. C. Let someone know your displeasure. 20. Why do Arabs rarely say “No” directly? A. They consider it impolite to a guest. B. They think it is disrespectful to God. C. They want to have lots of time to consider. 第二部分 阅读理解（共两节，满分 40 分） 第一节（共 15 小题；每小题 2 分，满分 30 分） 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的 A、B、C 和 D 四个选项中，选出最佳选项。 A Whether you’ve got children to entertain or are a child at heart yourself, discover Brisbane’s wide range of wildlife parks, zoos and animal farms where you can view and interact with creatures big and small from koalas and kangaroos, to camels and ostriches! Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (保护区), Brisbane Lone Pine, Brisbane’s favourite native animal sanctuary, is the world’s first and largest koala sanctuary. Here you can meet more than 130 koalas, hand-feed kangaroos without barriers and meet other Australian wildlife. Entry is cheaper purchased via the Brisbane Visitor Information Centre on 07 3006 6290 or online here. Open seven days, 9 am-5:30 pm Monday to Thursday, 9 am-7 pm Friday, 9 am-5 pm Saturday and 10 am-5 pm Sunday. Daisy Hill Koala Centre, City of Logan This free-to-visit koala centre is located 25 km south of Brisbane and is home to a number of educational koalas. You can’t touch or hold the koalas, but can see them up-close from two viewing platforms. Entry is free. Open 9 am-4 pm daily. Suitable for wheelchairs. Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre, Brisbane Just 12 km from the city center of Brisbane, the wildlife centre is home to native wildlife kept in exhibits that mirror their actual habitat. Be sure to stop by the centre’s most famous attraction---the Gondwana Platypus Rockpool. Entry is $7.70 for adults, concessions (优惠票) $5.25, children $3.70 or a family pass is $19.50. Open seven days, 9 am-4:30 pm. Summer Land Camels, Scenic Rim Find Australia’s largest wild camel training centre and dairy operation right in the heart of the Scenic Rim. Meet their gentle camels, feed and ride them, take photos and learn about the anti-aging and immune health benefits of camel milk. You can purchase some of their camel milk skincare from the farm shop. Prices start from $20 for varying camel experiences. Open Monday-Saturday 8 am-3 pm and Sunday 9 am-4:30 pm. 21. Daisy Hill Koala Center is different from the other three in that it _____. A. charges no admission fee B. allows touching the koalas C. lies outside the city of Brisbane D. is accessible to visitors every day 22. Where should you go to visit the Gondwana Platypus Rockpool? A. Summer Land Camels. B. Daisy Hill Koala Centre. C. Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. D. Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre. 23. When can you visit Summer Land Camels? A. At 8:30 am on Sunday. B. At 7:30 am on Saturday. C. At 2:30 pm on Thursday. D. At 3:30 pm on Wednesday. 高三英语第 4页共 8 页 B Kemira had just jumped in the shower when she heard her mother,Tammy, yelling. Kemira’s 12-day-old daughter was choking. Having fed baby Ryleigh just 30 minutes earlier, the 24-year-old new mother burst out of the bathroom and began patting (轻拍) her daughter on the back, but the baby didn’t make a sound. Kemira knew they needed to get to the hospital fast. They had barely made it out of their neighborhood when the flashing lights of a police car appeared behind them. Officer Will Kimbro stopped the speeding driver. Tammy pulled over and jumped out of the car, crying that her granddaughter had stopped breathing. Desperate for help, Kemira handed her daughter to Kimbro. He found her heart was barely beating, and called an ambulance---it would take seven minutes, and the hospital was even further away. That was seven minutes Ryleigh didn’t have, because her lips had already become blue. The fact that Kimbro was there was something of a miracle. He is a school police officer who usually spends his days patrolling (巡逻) the middle school ten miles away. But he travels further when school is out in the summer. Even luckier: He had recently completed a first-aid class. Officer Kimbro gave the baby to Kemira to hold. He checked Ryleigh’s pulse and then began tapping and pressing her chest. Thanks to the class, Kimbro knew the choking baby didn’t have a chance if there was a blockage (堵塞物), and he used one finger to clear her throat. Twenty seconds later, Ryleigh began to cry. “If she’s crying like that, she’s breathing,” said Kimbro. Before the ambulance arrived, Kimbro continued giving first aid. The whole time he was thinking, “Don’t let this baby die in front of her mother and grandmother.” At the hospital, Ryleigh recovered quickly, and she was brought back to life thanks to a determined school police officer who was in the right place at the right time. 24. Why did Kimbro stop the car? A. Kemira signaled to him for help. B. Tammy drove faster than the legal limit. C. There was a traffic jam in the neighborhood. D. The baby had to be taken to hospital at once. 25. What was Kemira’s reaction after being stopped? A. She was too angry to explain herself. B. She tried to do all she could to save her baby. C. She got mad at Kimbro and gave up hope. D. She lost her mind and didn’t know what to do. 26. Kimbro felt sure that his aid worked when ___________. A. he noticed Ryleigh’s lips were blue B. he checked Ryleigh’s pulse C. he pressed Ryleigh’s chest D. he heard Ryleigh crying 27. Which of the following words can best describe Kimbro? A. Warm and lucky. B. Brave and generous. C. Kind and responsible. D. Intelligent and skillful. C Christy and Ted Wilson set aside time every Sunday evening to go over their shared to-do list. Most of the items are tasks like scheduling doctor appointments and organizing play dates for their three young children. In every relationship, there’s a question of who is pulling their weight around the house. Now that a majority of married-couple families have two working parents, the old “rough day at the office” excuse doesn’t really cut it. Women still handle more of the household activities, but men increasingly are spending time on food preparation and cleanup. To keep things fair or at least to avoid fights, couples are turning to technology. They are using project management apps designed for the workplace to divide up and track 高三英语第 5页共 8 页 household to-dos and reserving a portion of their date nights to compare chores. In some cases, they are even turning it into a game, setting rewards for getting things done. The imbalance doesn’t always follow gender lines (性别界线). There was a time when Mr. Wilson was in more of a “Mr. Mom” role: He was attending business school, while Mrs. Wilson was clocking long hours as a lawyer.So Mr. Wilson had more flexibility to take on more of the child-care and household-management work. The couple’s roles changed after Mr. Wilson graduated and started an e-commerce company. “We have had a lot of switching back and forth of who was in the driver’s seat in terms of household management so one person wasn’t too put upon,” she said. They began using calendars to keep the family schedules straight and sharing a to-do list in the Notes app on their phones. Each can take on chores the other dislikes. 28. What does the underlined part “pulling their weight around the house” in Paragraph 2 probably mean? A. Taking on the household chores. B. Sharing the burden of buying a house. C. Running around the house to lose weight. D. Making excuses for not doing any housework. 29. Why does the couple turn to project management apps? A. To stop their arguments over dates. B. To play phone games with each other. C. To distribute and follow household to-dos. D. To reward themselves for doing the housework. 30. What can we infer from the Wilsons’ example? A. Digital apps can only handle household arguments. B. Couples need to switch their roles each day. C. Gender plays a key role in management. D. Understanding can help settle conflicts. 31. What would be the best title for the text? A. Ways to finish housework. B. Advantages of the Notes app. C. A family to-do list goes digital. D. Working parents face difficulties. D Researchers at Ohio State University report that they have been able to recover the sense of a research participant’s hand with a severe spinal cord (脊髓) injury using a brain-computer interface (BCI) system. The technology applies neural (神经的) signals to the participant, resulting in greatly improved motor function. The participant in this study is Ian Burkhart, a 28-year-old man who suffered a spinal cord injury during a diving accident in 2010. Since 2014, Burkhart has been working with researchers on a project that aims to recover the function of his right arm. The system they have developed works through a system of electrodes (电极) on his skin and a small computer chip inserted into his motor cortex (the brain area that influences motor movements). This setup, which uses wires to route movement signals from the brain to the muscles, bypassing (绕过) his spinal cord injury, gives Burkhart enough control over his right arm and hand to lift a coffee cup, pick up a credit card, and play Guitar Hero. The advances in the BCI system led to important improvements. They enable Burkhart to reliably recognize something by touch alone. The system is also the first BCI that allows for recovery of movement and touch at once, and this ability to experience increased touch during movement gives him a greater sense of control and lets him do things more quickly. Finally, these improvements allow the BCI system to sense how much pressure to use when it is handling an object or picking something up. The researchers are working on creating a next-generation sleeve (套管) containing the required electrodes and sensors that could be easily put on and taken off. They also want to improve the system that can be controlled with a tablet rather than a computer, making it smaller and much easier to carry around. 高三英语第 6页共 8 页 32. What is the study at Ohio State University aimed at? A. Protecting people’s spinal cord. B. Improving one’s motor function. C. Helping one’s hand regain its sense. D. Preventing severe spinal cord injuries. 33. How did the new system help Ian Burkhart’s right hand lift a coffee cup? A. By building up his body muscles through electrodes. B. By recovering the function of his injured spinal cord. C. By inserting a computer chip into his injured spinal cord. D. By sending movement signals directly to his arm muscles. 34. What does Paragraph 3 mainly tell us? A. The advantages of the improved BCI system. B. The improvement the BCI system needed. C. The doubt about improving the BCI system. D. The principles of improving the BCI system. 35. In what aspect will the researchers improve the BCI system? A. Its stability. B. Its portability. C. Its accuracy. D. Its safety. 第二节（共 5 小题；每小题 2 分，满分 10 分） 根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 Many people want to read books because they think books will improve their health. Others find it rewarding to read books. Whatever your motivation, books just sit quietly and wait for us. 36 Read more than one book at a time 37 Sometimes I need something that helps me escape my world and at other times I want to dive deep into a subject I don’t know much about. Having choices means I’m less likely to pick up my phone or to reach for the TV remote. Schedule it Many people read in bed for 20 minutes before going to sleep. This is a great time to read, since you want to calm your mind from your day and a book can definitely help with that. 38 I love starting my day slowly, and reading a book rather than the news is more enjoyable for me. Make full use of reading time There are a lot of 10- to 20-minute gaps in the day that you could use to read or listen to an audio book. I read when I’m waiting at the bank or when I’m taking the train. 39 I always carry a book with me, so I never waste time on my phone when I could be reading. Become a browser I’m always on the hunt for new books even if I have a few I’m enjoying. I’ll randomly stop by the library or the book store for a quick look to see if there’s anything new. This way there’s always something new in my reading queue. 40 A. How do you know what you want to read? B. Here is how to give them more of your time. C. Keep books that you’ll always pick up close at hand. D. I’m not always in the mood for the same kind of books. E. I listen when I clean up the kitchen at the end of the night. F. I actually read first thing in the morning in bed for 15 minutes. G. Finding books hurriedly when you are out can lead to bad choices. 高三英语第 7页共 8 页 第三部分 语言知识运用（共两节，满分 45 分） 第一节完形填空（共 20 小题；每小题 1.5 分，满分 30 分） 阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的 A、B、C 和 D 四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最 佳选项。 Recently while driving, I heard poet Robert Pinsky on the radio. He was talking, 41, about poetry and said something that 42 the way I had always thought about the 43 . The idea was so 44 that I was almost embarrassed to admit it. It was something 45 this: when we look at a painting, we don’t expect ourselves to 46 its literal meaning, or any meaning at all, right away. No, we enjoy 47 because we like it, and we don’t know why. We generally 48 this as aesthetics (美学), a word that 49 the most “un-artsy” recognize and willingly accept. Yet, when words on a page come into play, our brains 50 , and we start trying to 51 and understand word structure. If we can’t assign a meaning within the first few 52 , then our brains, 53 since childhood in the task of “reading comprehension”, may start to panic at our 54 . The information becomes difficult, maybe even unknowable and therefore 55 . This can happen to even a great1 56, a lover of literature---for poetry is a different animal. However, as Pinsky 57 that day, if we can recognize this, let it go, and 58ourselves to read poetry as we would look at a painting, with no 59 of “translation”, then we may decide if we like it---or maybe even 60 it. Once we fall in love, a true passion is awakened. 41. A. at least B. of course C. by accident D. in vain 42. A. approached B.changed C. proved D. repeated 43. A. talent B. lesson C. subject D. example 44. A. strong B. special C. simple D. stupid 45. A. similar to B. familiar to C. useful for D. famous for 46. A. hide B. limit C. remember D. understand 47. A. art B. culture C. literature D. history 48. A. write B. accept C. memorize D. report 49. A. yet B. seldom C. even D. again 50. A. pause B. recall C. return D. switch 51. A. organize B. miss C. recommend D. believe 52. A. goals B. offers C. rules D. lines 53. A. trusted B. worried C.trained D. sharpened 54. A. failure B. illness C. regret D. carelessness 55. A. unarguable B. unappealing C. unavoidable D. undemanding 56. A. speaker B. adviser C. performer D. reader 57. A. showed up B. handed out C. printed out D. took up 58. A. allow B. inspire C. warn D. forbid 59. A. loss B. expectation C. evidence D. suggestions 60. A. create B. see C. hear D. love 第二节语法填空 (共 10 小题；每小题 1.5 分，满分 15 分) 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入 1 个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。 The water is sitting in around 1000 tanks at the former nuclear power station, but the amount is growing 61 (day) as rainfall and groundwater 62 (enter) the site continue to be polluted. With an average of 160 tonnes a day being added last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency expects existing capacity will be full by mid-2022. That is 63 the Japanese government is reportedly going to approve a strategy 64 discharging the water to the ocean, as 65 (recommend) by scientific advisers. The release would 高三英语第 8页共 8 页 start in around 2022 and continue for decades. The news sparked immediate 66 (complain) from Japanese fishing groups and hid warnings that China 67 (ban) Japanese seafood imports. But are people right to be worried about the 68 (environment) and health effects of releasing such a large amount of contaminated water? Much of the existing water 69 (filter)already by a process designed to remove more than 62 radioactive contaminants. The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the firm 70 runs the site, have emphasized that the main radionuclide( 放 射 性 核 ) remaining is tritium(氚). Francis Livens at the University of Manchester, UK, says this is very hard to separate because it is a radioactive isotope(同位素) of hydrogen, and so part of the water molecules themselves. 第四部分 写作（共两节，满分 35 分） 第一节短文改错（共 10 小题；每小题 1 分，满分 10 分） 假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有 10 处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。 增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(Λ),并在其下面写出该加的词。 删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)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。 I grew up in a small town there the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age when children could go home for lunch and found their mothers waiting. I took for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers or the homework monitors. I never questioned if this intelligent woman, who had had a job before I was born, would eventually return again to work. I only knew that when the noon bell rings, I would race breathless home. My mother would be standing at the top of the stair, smiling at me in a look that suggested I was the only important thing she had on her mind. For this, I am forever grateful. 第二节书面表达（满分 25 分） 你的一个善意举动就可以让世界变得更美好，请记述一次你帮助他人的经历，内容包括： 1. 时间、地点； 2. 帮助过程； 3. 个人感受。 注意： 1. 词数 100 左右； 2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。 高三英语第 9页共 8 页 英语参考答案 第一部分听力 1-5 AABBC 6-10 CCBBA 11-15 BACAB 16-20 CCABA 第二部分阅读理解 21-23 ADC 24-27 BBDC 28-31 ACDC 32-35 CDAB 36-40 BDFEG 第三部分语言知识应用 41-45 BBCCA 46-50 DABCD 51-55 ADCAB 56-60 DCABD 61. daily 62. entering 63. why 64. of 65. recommended 66. complaints 67. would ban 68. environmental 69. has been filtered 70. that/which 第四部分写作 短文改错 I grew up in a small town there(there 改成 where) the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age when children could go home for lunch and found(found 改成 find) their mothers waiting. I took(添加 it)for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers or(or 改成 and) the homework monitors. I never questioned if(if 改 成 that) this intelligent woman, who had had a job before I was born, would eventually return again(删去 again) to work. I only knew that when the noon bell rings(rings 改成 rang), I would race breathless(breathless 改成 breathlessly) home. My mother would be standing at the top of the stair(stair 改成 stairs), smiling at me in(in 改成 with) a look that suggested I was the only important thing she had on her mind. For this, I am forever grateful. 书面表达 One possible version Last Friday, after I finished seeing the doctor in Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I met an old lady who was over eighty years old. I learned she had come to the hospital by herself. I thought she must have many difficulties to encounter, so I volunteered to accompany and help her. After the granny saw the doctor, I helped her to receive medical tests and took the results to the doctor who gave her a prescription. Then I fetched the medicine for the granny. Finally, I helped her get on the bus and waved goodbye to her. I felt delighted to do my little bit of good and spread kindness to the world. 高三英语第 10页共 8 页 听力原文 1. W:I hold that every kind of sports contributes to our well-being.Which one do you like best? M:I once enjoyed football so much. Now I think nothing can compare with basketball. 2. W:On the first day, you will leave Shanghai for Hong Kong on the night flight. And you'll stay there for two days. You will then go to Shenzhen by subway on the third day and stay two nights there. M: That sounds great. I'm looking forward to it. And can I get back by train? W:Of course. 3. M:Are these treatments really necessary? They don't seem to be of much help. W: Just be patient, Mr. Paris. I'm sure you'll see some results soon. 4. W:You look run-down, Brian. M: Yeah. I've been feeling under the weather recently. I caught a bad cold last week, and I still haven't gotten over it. Even though I seem to be over the worst of it, I don't want to give the bug to anyone in the office. W: Uh, better not. Well, you want to take sick leave? All you need now is a good, long rest. M:I guess so. 5. W:Are you planning to enter the singing contest? M: Of course. This is a great chance for me to show off my beautiful voice. W:Do you think you have a chance to be the winner? M: A chance? Not just a chance, I'm a hundred percent certain. I still have 5 days to practice. 6. W: I think a drought has set in. It hasn't rained a drop for months. M: I think so, too, but didn't it rain last month? W: It did rain last month, but the rainfall was only half the monthly average. M:Oh.That's bad! W: That's right. It's really bad. I'm really concerned though not panicked yet. M:I don't blame you. The pastures have browned out even before the summer hasn't arrived. W: Yeah, and the soil has been baked so hard that the plow can't even break the soil. M: Looks like it's going to be an ongoing thing that would get worse each day. W: Yeah. If it doesn't rain, it's going to get critical. 7. M: Hello. Do you carry walking shoes ? W: Yes, we do. This is such a large shoes store that we can carry almost everything. 高三英语第 11页共 8 页 M: That's good. Can you show me some walking shoes? W: Yes. This pair is made of calf leather, very soft. M: Let me try it on, and see how it fits. W:It looks comfortable. M:But it seems a little tight. W: That's because you are wearing heavy socks. M:What about if I take the inner sole(鞋垫) off? W: That'll help. M: Yes, it's more comfortable now. But can I change these round shape shoelaces(鞋带) ? W: You can if you want. But this original one lasts longer. M:I know that. But it loosens easily. W: That's all right. I'll change you another pair of shoelaces. M: Thanks. I also need some shoes polish if there's any. W:We carry plenty of them here. M: I'll take two. Black and brown, one each. 8. W:What's your plan for the weekend? M:I've no idea. W:What about having a party? M: That's good. Who will you invite and where to? W: Maybe Jane, Jack, Tony, and... just these old fellows in my new house. What's your opinion? M: That's great. I haven't seen them for days ! Everyone's busy. W:Now,go and call them as soon as possible to assure when they'll come, so that we could prepare for it earlier. M: Leave it to me. And you can make a shopping list while I'm dialing. I'll be back in a minute. W:OK. M: Hey! Good news and bad news, which one is first wanted? W: Come to the point! M: OK, Jane has to go to work this weekend. That is to say, there'll be 13 people including you and me. W:And the good news is... M:David promised to carry his girlfriend! So it's OK now. That a great idea! I'll call the boys again to remind them that they must carry their girlfriends! More people, more fun! 9. M: Where do you get your idea from, Mrs. Rowling? W:Where the idea for Harry Potter came from I really couldn't tell you. I was traveling on a train between Manchester and London, and it just popped into my head. I spent four hours thinking about what Hogwarts would be like-the most interesting train journey I've ever taken. By the time I got off at King's Cross, many of the characters in the books had already been invented. M:Are any of the characters in the books based on real people? W: Tricky question! The answer is yes and no. I have to confess that Hermione Granger is a little bit like I 高三英语第 12页共 8 页 was at her age, though I was neither as clever nor as annoying. Ron is a little bit like my best friend and Professor Snape is a lot like one of my old teachers, but I'm not saying which one. M:How long have you been writing? W:Nearly all my life. I had written two novels before I had the idea for Harry Potter, though I'd never tried to get them published. M:Did you expect the Harry Potter books to be so successful? W:Never.I just wrote the sort of thing I liked reading when I was younger. I didn't expect lots of people to like them. In fact,I never really thought much apart from getting them published. M:Any clues about the next book? W:I don't want to give anything away, but I can tell you that the books are getting darker...Harry Potter's going to have quite a bit to deal with as he gets older. Sorry if they get too scary! M:Thanks for your time. W:You're welcome. 10. W:Arabs consider it extremely bad manners to start talking business immediately. Even the busiest government official always takes extra time to be polite and offer refreshments. No matter how busy you are, you should make time for this. The conference visit is a way of doing business throughout the Arab world. Frequently, you will have to discuss your business in the presence of strangers, who may or may not have anything to do with your business. Do not be surprised if your meeting is interrupted several times by people who come in talking, and leave. Act as though you do not hear, and never show displeasure at being interrupted. Making decisions quickly is not an Arab custom. There is a vagueness in doing business in the Middle East which will puzzle a newcomer. Give yourself lots of time and ask lots of questions. When an Arab says "yes", he may mean "maybe". When he says "maybe", he probably means "no". You will seldom get a direct "no" from an Arab because it is considered impolite. Instead of "no" he will say "inshallah", which means, "if God is willing". On the other hand, "yes" does not necessarily mean "yes". A smile and a slow nod might seem like an agreement, but in fact, your host is being polite. An Arab considers it impolite to disagree with a guest.