2018-2019学年建平中学高三上英语期中考试

2018-2019学年建平中学高三上英语期中考试

II. Grammar and vocabulary

Section A

The mama-bear instinct

Ms. Angela McQueen, a math and PE teacher at Mattoon High School, Illinois, has a routine when she’s on lunch-monitoring duty. She (21)________ (keep) an eye on the hundreds of students in her charge by walking laps(圈) around the school cafeteria.

In September 2017, McQueen, then 40, had hardly finished one lap (22)________ a 14-year-old freshman standing not far from her pulled out a gun. She knew too well that he was going to start shooting.

School employees (23)________ (train) on how to handle active shooters: Attack their ability (24)________ (aim). So with the shooter’s finger on the trigger, McQueen rushed to him. (25)________ (grab) at his arm, she forced the gun into the air, but not (26)________ he struck one student in the hand and chest and hurt another. As students ran for the exits, McQueen defeated the shooter with help from the school resource officer, (27)________ disarmed the student and took him into imprisonment until police arrived minutes later. Afterward, McQueen went outside to give hugs and support to her shaken students.

“It’s the mama-bear instinct,” she told the local paper. “I don’t have kids of my own, but these are still ‘(28)________’ kids.”

(29)________ ________ McQueen, a story that has played out tragically at far too many schools across the country had a relatively happy ending. “If it hadn’t been for her, the situation would have been a lot different,” Police Chief Jeff Branson said at a news conference.

As one (30)________ (impress) student told CBS News, “Mr. McQueen is our heroine.”

Section B

Photography is often perceived as an objective, and therefore unbiased, medium for documenting and preserving historic moments and national and world histories, and for visualizing and narrating news stories. But the choices made by a photographer – including how the image is __31__, what is left in or out of the frame, and how it may be cropped, edited, or otherwise altered after it is taken – introduce a point-of-view into the photograph and __32__ impact how we receive and understand images. Such considerations raise critical questions about how willingly we accept any one photograph as a reflection of __33__ truth.

Photographs can bear __34__ to history and even serve as catalysts(催化剂) for change. They can foster sympathy and raise awareness or, __35__, offer critical commentary on historical people, places, and events. Throughout the history of the medium, photographers have aimed to capture the essence of events they saw with their own eyes—though the question of the trustworthiness of their images is always up for debate.

Though Dorothea Lange had been operating a successful portrait studio in San Francisco since 1919, she was moved by the homeless people as the Great Depression began to take its toll, and she started photographing them. These photographs led to her being hired by the federal Farm Security Administration (FSA), formed to raise awareness of and provide aid to poor farmers. Lange closely identified with the FSA’s mission, which was to __36__ the effects of the Depression on Americans, bringing attention to their struggles so that such events would never recur. Due in part to her work with the FSA, Lange became known as a pioneer of documentary photography, a __37__ she

disliked because she felt the term did not reflect the passionate social motivations that fueled her work.

Dorothea Lange took this photograph Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California in 1936, while employed by the FSA program. In Nipomo, California, Lange came across Florence Owens Thompson and her children in a camp filled with field workers whose livelihoods were devastated by the failure of the pea crops. Recalling her encounter with Thompson years later, she said, “I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother. I do not remember how I explained my __38__ or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction.” One photograph from that shoot, now known as Migrant Mother, was widely __39__ to magazines and newspapers and became a symbol of the plight of migrant farm workers during the Great Depression.

As Lange described Thompson’s situation, “She and her children had been living on frozen vegetables from the field. Yet they could not move on, for she had just sold the tires from the car to buy food.” However, Thompson later __40__ Lange’s account. When a reporter interviewed her in the 1970s, she insisted that she and Lange did not speak to each other, nor did she sell the tires of her car. Thompson said that Lange had either confused her for another farmer or embellished(渲染) what she had understood of her situation in order to make a better story.

III. Reading comprehension

Section A

Vast parts of Earth should be left wild

To avoid mass extinctions of plants and animals, governments should protect a third of the oceans and land by 2030 and half by 2050, with a focus on areas of high biodiversity. So say leading biologists in an editorial in the journal Science.

This isn’t just about saving biodiverse areas, says Jonathan Baillie of the National Geographic Society, one of the authors. It is also about saving ourselves by protecting __41__ natural systems, or ecosystems, and their benefits to us, known as ecosystem services. “We are learning that the large areas that remain are important for providing services for all life. The forests, for example, are __42__ for absorbing and storing carbon,” says Baillie.

At present, just 3.6 per cent of the planet’s oceans and 14.7 per cent of land is protected by law. At the 2010 Nagoya Conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity, governments agreed to protect 10 per cent of the oceans and 17 per cent of land by 2020.

But this isn’t nearly enough, says Baillie. In the editorial, he and his coauthor, Ya-Ping Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, want governments to set much bigger __43__ at the next major conference on biodiversity in 2020.

“We have to enormously __44__ our ambition if we want to avoid an extinction crisis and if we want to maintain the ecosystem services that we __45__ benefit from,” says Baillie. “The trends are in a __46__ direction, it’s just we have to move much faster.”

It is hard to work out how much space is needed to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem __47__, the pair say, because there is so much we don’t know about life on Earth – like how many species there are. __48__, most estimates suggest that between 25 and 75 per cent of high biodiversity regions or major ecosystems should be protected. Therefore, we, including governments, should be __49__ when setting goals and strategies.

“There is no doubt that we need far more land and sea __50__ for conserving and retaining nature,” says James Watson at the University of Queensland in Australia. “Targets like 50 per cent are in the right ball park when it comes to the minimal __51__ of area needed to conserve biodiversity.”

But Watson and others stress that which areas get protected is even more important than the overall percentage. “The key thing is to protect the right areas,” says Jose Montoya of the Station for Theoretical and Experimental Ecology in Moulis, France. “If we __52__ protect a proportion of the territory, governments will likely protect what’s

easy, and that’s usually areas of __53__ biodiversity and ecosystem service provision.”

In fact, a third of the 3.6 per cent of land that is already meant to be protected is actually being __54__, Watson’s team reported last month. So only __55__ areas to be protected isn’t enough.

41. A. stricter B. wider C. safer D. simpler

42. A. unique B. sufficient C. critical D. fit

43. A. examples B. values C. awards D. objectives

44. A. increase B. achieve C. lack D. frustrate

45. A. barely B. currently C. roughly D. thoroughly

46. A. opposite B. fixed C. complex D. positive

47. A. approaches B. management C. benefits D. degradation

48. A. Therefore B. Furthermore C. However D. Otherwise

49. A. concerned B. changeable C. firm D. cautious

50. A. deserted B. secured C. measured D. distributed

51. A. damage B. cost C. amount D. standard

52. A. completely B. merely C. virtually D. desperately

53. A. mass B. tropical C. marine D. low

54. A. exploited B. expanded C. restored D. discovered

55. A. developing B. covering C. declaring D. utilizing

Section B

(A)

The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his ‘69 Chevy Malibu convertible(敞篷车). Beautifully repainted with V-8 engine—it was a gift wasted on me at that age. What did I know about classic cars? The important thing was that Hannah and I could drive around Tucson with the top down.

Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much taller, almost five foot ten. “Hannah’s going to be something,” my mother always said. And sure enough, that summer she signed with a modeling agency. She was already doing catalog and runway work.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to the movies. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald’s drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share. “Let’s ride around awhile,” I said. It was a clear night, oven-warm, full moon cast low over the desert. Taking a curve too fast, I hit a patch of dirt and slid from side to side.

I then cut through a neighbor’s landscape wall and drove into a full-grown palm. The front wheels came to rest halfway up the tree trunk. French fries on the floor, the dash, and my lap. An impossible amount of blood on Hannah’s face, pieces of skin hanging into her eyes. They took us in separate ambulances. In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly: Best plastic surgeon in the city. End of her modeling career.

We’d been wearing leg belts, but the car didn’t have shoulder bands. I’d damaged my cheekbone on the wheel; Hannah’s forehead had split wide open on the dash. What would I say to her? When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her anger. She sat beside me and took my hand. “I hit my best friend’s car in the rear when I was your age,” she said. “I wrecked her car and mine.” “I’m so sorry,” I said. “You’re both alive,” she said. “The rest is window dressing.” I started to protest, and Sharon stopped me. “I forgive you. Hannah will too.”

Sharon’s forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that summer, to stay friends throughout high school and college, to be in each other’s weddings, and to watch my four teenagers get along with her three younger children. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I’m tempted to blame someone in a secret for

something recognized as wrong. And whenever I see Hannah, the scars are so faded that no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still see the faint shimmer(微光) just below her hairline—for me, a sign of grace.

56.Which of the following about Hannah is TRUE according to the passage?

A. She was not as badly injured as the author.

B. She never really forgave me though her mother did.

C. She learned the gift of forgiveness through the accident.

D. She could have been a model if she hadn’t experienced the accident.

57.In paragraph 4, “window dressing” is closest in meaning to “________”.

A. insignificant

B. colorful

C. undetermined

D. hopeful

58.According to the passage, Sharon comforted the author by ________.

A. showing her own scar

B. mentioning her own story

C. visiting the author in person

D. teaching the author a personal lesson

59.Which of the following might be the best title of the article?

A. A Graceful Friend

B. A Lasting Friendship

C. A Lucky Car Accident

D. The Gift of Forgiveness

(B)

Making these easy tasks part of your morning schedule will improve your nutrition, energy, and mood today—and beyond.

6:00 a.m.

STRETCH IN BED

Try this even before you open your eyes. Lift one arm and begin by stretching each finger, then your hand, then your wrist, and then your whole arm. Move on to the other arm. Then stretch your toes, feet, ankles, and legs. Finally, end with a neck and back stretch that propels you out of bed. You’ve just limbered up your muscles and joints and enhanced blood flow throughout your body, providing a shot of oxygen to all your tissues. Take up the entire length of the bed when you stretch. According to Harvard University psychologist Amy Cuddy, this display of power is typical of a bold person, making you feel more confident all day long.

7:00 a.m.

EXERCISE A BIT—ON AN EMPTY STOMACH

Working out before you eat, researchers say, encourages your body to burn more fat for energy rather than relying on carbohydrates from food. In a Journal of Physiology study, participants who exercised after breakfast still gained weight (as did a control group who didn’t exercise), but those who exercised on an empty stomach did not. Moreover, research from the University of Vermont shows that the mood-enhancing benefits of a 20-minute workout can last for 12 hours, a boost you’ll want to enjoy all day long.

BREAK YOUR FAST TWICE

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not have two? A study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity tracked the weight and breakfast-eating patterns of 584 students over two years. They found that frequent breakfast skippers showed increased odds of becoming overweight or obese compared with those who ate two breakfasts (one at home and one at school). The sensible takeaway: If you eat more in the morning, you’ll be less likely to snack at night, when it’s harder to burn off calories.

8:00 a.m.

SEEK OUT GOOD NEWS

In a 2015 study, researchers asked one group of participants to watch just three minutes of positive, solutions-

focused news (such as a video of a 70-year-old man who got his graduation certificate after failing the test dozens of times). These participants were 27 percent more likely to report a few hours later that their day had been “happy” than people who watched negative news in the morning. Study author Gielan also cited substantial evidence that negative moods affect workplace performance.

V oila! You’ve improved your state of mind, your health, and your productivity—all before the weekday has even begun. Now you’re ready to conquer your to-do list for today and every day.

60.The article is written to _________.

A. give professional guidance on keeping fit

B. reveal some research results about health

C. put forward several suggestions for morning routines

D. offer some tips on how to improve workplace performance

61.It is suggested that you should occupy the entire bed when you stretch because it especially ______.

A. increases your confidence

B. helps you out of bed easily

C. stimulates your blood circulation

D. has an effect on your overall health

62.Who is least likely to gain weight according to the article?

A. Those who skip breakfasts frequently.

B. Those who do morning stretching in bed.

C. Those who have double breakfasts in the morning.

D. Those who have their breakfast before morning exercise.

(C)

What is the single most effective way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions? Go vegetarian? Replant the Amazon? Cycle to work? None of the above. The answer is: make air-conditioners radically better. On one calculation, replacing refrigerants(制冷剂) that damage the atmosphere would reduce total greenhouse gases by the equivalent of 90bn tons of CO2 by 2050. Making the units more energy-efficient could double that.

Air-conditioning is one of the world’s great overlooked industries. Automobiles and air-conditioners were invented at roughly the same time, and both have had a huge impact on where people live and work. Unlike cars, though, air-conditioners have drawn little criticism for their social impact, emissions or energy efficiency. Most hot countries do not have rules to govern their energy use.

Yet air-conditioning has done quite a lot of things to benefit humankind. It has transformed productivity in the tropics and helped turn southern China into the workshop of the world. In Europe, its spread has pushed down heat-related deaths ten times less than what it was in 2003, when around 70,000 people, most of them elderly, died in a heatwave. For children, air-conditioned classrooms and dormitories are associated with better grades at school.

Environmentalists who call air-conditioning “a luxury we cannot afford” have half a point, however. In the next ten years, as many air-conditioners will be installed around the world as were put in between 1902 (when air-conditioning was invented) and 2005. Until energy can be produced without carbon emissions, these extra machines will warm the world. At the moment, therefore, air-conditioners create a vicious cycle. The more the Earth warms, the more people need them. But the more there are, the warmer the world will be.

Cutting the impact of cooling requires three things (beyond turning up the thermostat(温度调节器)to make rooms less Arctic). First, air-conditioners must become much more efficient. The most energy-efficient models on the market today consume only about one-third as much electricity as average ones. Minimum energy-performance standards need to be raised, or introduced in countries that lack them altogether, to push the average unit’s performance closer to the standard of the best.

Next, manufactures should stop using damaging refrigerants. One category of these, hydrofluorocarbons, is over 1,000 times worse than carbon dioxide when it comes to trapping heat in the atmosphere. An international deal to phase out these pollutants, called the Kigali amendment, will come into force in 2019. Foot-draggers should approve and implement it; America is one country that has not done so.

Last, more could be done to design offices, malls and even cities so they do not need as many air-conditioners in the first place. More buildings should be built with overhanging roofs or balconies for shade, or with natural air-circulation. Simply painting roofs white can help keep temperatures down.

Better machines are necessary. But cooling as an overall system needs to be improved if air-conditioners is to fulfill its promise to make people healthier, wealthier and wiser, without too high an environmental cost. Providing indoor shelters of air-conditioned comfort need not come at the expense of an overheating world.

63.Why does the author think air-conditioning is an overlooked industry?

A. Because many hot countries haven’t put the energy-controlling rules into force.

B. Because it has caused the same impact on people’s life and work as automobiles have.

C. Because it has brought great economic, physical, and educational benefits to humans.

D. Because it doesn’t get the due criticism for its environmental impact as automobiles do.

64.What can we learn from Paragraph 4?

A. The price of air-conditioning will go up due to the large demand for it.

B. A high environmental cost will come along with the air-conditioning service.

C. Environmentalists are expecting extra machines which can warm the world.

D. Governments partially agree that air-conditioning is a luxury we cannot afford.

65.With regard to the measures to cut the impact of cooling, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. Manufacturers should only stop using hydrofluorocarbons.

B. People should avoid turning up the air-conditioners to have cool rooms on hot days.

C. People should adopt more environmentally-friendly materials when designing buildings.

D. Governments should give a green light to the agreement on eliminating the pollutants.

66.The author writes this passage to _________.

A. arouse people’s attention to the global warming

B. appeal for the global joint efforts to combat global warming

C. give credit to air-conditioning for its great contributions to humans

D. offer a new perspective on how to reduce greenhouse gases emissions

Section C

Bill Gates doesn’t pretend he lives in an egalitarian(主张平等的) household. When it comes to parenting his three children, the billionaire Microsoft giant readily admits his wife Melinda has done more than her share of the work raising the kids.

“My wife does 80%,” Gates told a crowd of Harvard students last Thursday. Gates spent two years there taking math and computer science courses as a pre-law student, but never finished up his degree. “My eldest graduates from Stanford in June, so I’m optimistic she won’t fall into my footsteps,” Gates joked.

__67__ They followed a 1970s “Love and Logic” parenting model. The core idea of the philosophy is centered on the idea of exerting emotional control, essentially minimizing emotional reactions like shouting or scolding kids. __68__ Gates admits he and his wife haven’t been perfect at carrying out the approach. “Can you get rid of the emotion? You can’t totally do it,” he said.

Aside from ruling in hot-blooded parent tempers, the love and logic model also stresses the importance of not leaning into rewards for kids, but instead demonstrating unconditional love and admiring kids for who they are, not what they do (or don’t) achieve, like a poor test score.

“Many highly successful people struggled with grades as children,” Fay wrote on his site. “__69__”

The model is a bit like the ideal method, in that it pushes parents to focus on asking questions of their kids and getting them to think about how to solve their own problems, instead of feeding them answers.

__70__. However, he knew he wanted to do things differently with his own kids.

It wasn’t the only way he set boundaries for his children while they were growing up. None of his kids owned a cell phone until they were 14 years old. And they will each get about $10 million of their parents fortune as inheritance, a mere fraction of the giant’s roughly $90 billion net worth. “We want to strike a balance where they have the freedom to do anything, but not a lot of money showered on them so they could go out and do nothing,” Gates once told TED.

IV. Summary writing

The life of a journalist can be exciting. To be in constant pursuit of the latest news demands a curiosity that can only be rewarded by getting to “where it is happening” as soon as possible. The goal, of course, is to relate what is happening to the public as clearly as possible.

However, every journalist must be careful to report not only a vivid picture of what is happening, but a true picture. Each journalist reports his or her own version of what has taken place. Still, this version must be an actual account if the reporter is to maintain a reliable reputation.

In order to get to the truth in some news stories, a reporter must rely on the statements of someone who is on the inside of the situation. Often this insider will only talk to a reporter if the reporter promises never to reveal the insider’s name. The insider usually threatens never to admit meeting with the reporter if his or her name is revealed.

Because stories of this nature often involve criminal activity, reporting them becomes a dangerous job. This kind of work involved in obtaining news in this manner serves as an inviting situation for the underworld as well as the legal world. Members of the underworld want to find out who the insider is so that they can keep him or her quiet. Members of the legal world claim that the reporter will obstruct(阻挠) justice if he or she fails to disclose the insider’s name.

Devotion has given journalism its reputation for reliability – a reliability that each journalist is expected to uphold in his or her search for truth. Supplying a truthful account of each day’s occurrences is the serious contract made between reporter and the public.

第II卷

I. Translations

1.嫌疑人已抓获，所有相关证据已移交警方。(concern)

2.众所周知，学习方法因人而异，适合你的不一定适合我。(necessarily)

3.我突然想到，我忘记提醒班长集合时间了，随即给他发了一个消息。(It)

4.学生表达自我的能力越强，他们就越可能在入学面试中脱颖而出，这促使了他们将练习演讲作为每日常规。(rule)

II. Guided writing

高三毕业在即，我校《金苹果》英语报要征集同学交往中的印象深刻的事。请向报纸投稿，叙述你与同学交往中的一件令你印象深刻的事，并谈谈感悟。文中不能透露真实姓名。

听力原文

I. Listening Comprehension

Section A Short Conversations

Directions: In Section A, you will hear ten short conversations between two speakers.At the end of each conversation, a question will be asked about what was said. The conversations and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a conversation and the question about it, read the four possible answers on your paper, and decide which one is the best answer to the question you have heard.

1. W: Isn't it great about Ruth's community service award?

M: She deserved it.

Q: What can be learned about Ruth?

2.W: I've got two tickets to today's game.Do you want to come along?

M: It'll be on television. Besides, it's really too cold for me.

Q: What will the man most probably do?

3. M: Come on, Sue, I know you have a new camera, but, you just took a picture of a car.

W: No, No! Look behind the car.

Q: What does the woman mean?

1. M: Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the post office?

W: Your guess is as good as mine. I'm new around here.

Q: What does the woman mean?

5. M: We haven't had any hot water for three days and I hate cold showers.

W: Oh, sounds miserable. Since the gyms usually open, why don't you just go over there to fix the problem?

Q：What does the woman suggest the man do?

6. M: I wish I didn't have to make a special trip to the post office to get my package.

W: Well, if you call them in the morning, they'll give the package to your mail carrier to bring

out to you.

Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?

7. W: I'm new in town and I need to find a doctor.Do you know anything about Joyce Brown?

M: I've been going to her for years. I don't see how you could do better.

Q: What does the man say about Joyce Brown?

8. M: Hey, that's a great sweater you're wearing. It looks really warm.

W: Yeah, but I wish I brought a coat like you did.It's really cold today.

Q: What does the woman imply?

9. W: Professor, have you graded my term paper yet?

M: To tell you the truth, I've been tied up in committee meetings all week.

Q: What can be learned about the woman's paper?

10. W: I'm going to Chicago on business and somebody said you were the right person to talk to about what I can do there for fun.

M: You bet I am. But I hope you've got at least a month.

Q: What does the man imply?

Section B

Directions: In Section B, you will hear two short passages and one longer conversation, and you will be asked three questions on each of the passages and the conversation. The passages and the conversation will be read twice, but the questions will be spoken only once. When you hear a question, read the four possible answers on your paper and decide which one would be the best answer to the question you have heard.

Questions 11 through 13 are based on the following passage.

I work in a market in London, just at the weekends—I’ve got a second-hand book stall—and one day I was getting my stall ready, when a lady came up and started looking at the books. She started chatting and telling me how she used to live in that part of London and how much it had changed since she'd last been in the area. While we were talking, I put out a book and she picked it up. ‘Oh, Grimm’s Fairy Tales,’ she said, ‘I had a copy of this when I was a child. I used to read it again and again.’ She began flicking through it and I carried on laying out the books, and when I looked up she was just standing there shaking, and she'd gone completely white. ‘But...but.…this is my actual book, ’she gasped, ‘look, it's got my name, Joan, in it. How on earth did you get it?’ Then she told me how there’d been a terrible fire while her family were away on holiday, and the house had been burnt to the ground. She thought all her belongings had been destroyed. She pulled out her purse to buy the book from me, but I stopped her. ‘No, no…please accept it as a gift—it's such a wonderful story.’

Now listen again.

Questions

11.What does the speaker do at the weekends?

12.What did the woman find about the book of Grimm's Fairy Tales?

13.What did the speaker do with the book of Grimm's Fairy Tales at last?

Questions 14 through 16 are based on the following passage.

When shoes are made to fit your feet and nobody else's they are called bespoke shoes. Bespoke shoes say something about you, not least that you are fairly wealthy and can afford to spend about ￡1,500 on a pair of shoes. Bespoke shoes make a statement.

There are now only five companies in London which still make traditional bespoke men's shoes. Surprisingly, bespoke shoes for women are made in Paris. The houses for these London companies are small, dark and crowded, full of tools and rolls of leather, and with a smell that can only mean one thing: not 21st century.

Bespoke shoes are made in exactly the same way as they were 100 years ago, as the technology is completely unchanged.It still takes three months to make the first pair of shoes for a client, who must come in for at least three fiings.It is a process of gradual building. Along with the shoe, one thing that is being built is the self of the client.

The designs, like the process, have remained unchanged for a century.It is not that new fashions could not be introduced；it is simply that the clients do not want them. They want their shoes to be as they were 100 years ago. Now listen again.

14. What are bespoke shoes?

15. What does the speaker say about the companies making bespoke men's shoes?

16. According to the speaker, what statement do bespoke shoes make?

Questions 17 through 20 are based on the following conversation.

W: Electricity has become such an accepted part of modern life that we would be lost without it. Countless conveniences which we take for granted, such as cookers, refrigerators, TVs and lighting could not operate without a source of electric power. The situation about a modern aircraft is not different. Peter Pletcher from Frankfurt Airport is here to tell us about electricity in aeroplanes. Peter, hello.

M: Hello, and thank you for inviting me on to your programme.

W: How is an aircraft provided with electrical power, Peter?

M: Well, of course, it has to produce its own.

W: I see. How much power is usually produce?

M: Oh, yes. On a Boeing 747,325 kilowatts of electricity is produced. Did you know that if all the electrical devices installed in an aircraft were switched on at once, then 224 kilowatts of electric power would be required? That's the amount consumed by 15 private homes.

W: That is a lot.So how does the aircraft use the electricity?

M: Well, most is consumed in the kitchens. Then a further 20 percent is used by electronic, water and technical systems on board. Thirteen per cent is used for the air conditioning, five percent of the lighting, three percent for the in-flight entertainment system. The remainder is consumed by the de-icing system for the windows and the water pipes in the kitchens and toilets.

W: What about the reliability of the supply?

M: Of course, the power supply on an aircraft must not fail.

W: But surely the jet engines don't always run at the same speed.

M: Exactly. There's a device to ensure that the electricity is supplied at a uniform rate. There’s also a back-up emergency device, delivering five kilowatts of power, which is enough to operate vital systems.

W: Peter Pletcher, that was fascinating. Now we know! Thank you very much.

M: Thank you.

Now listen again.

Questions

17. What are the two speakers talking about?

18. According to the man, what percent of electricity is consumed for the air conditioning?

19. According to the man, what can be learned about on-board electricity?

20. what can a back-up emergency device do?

That's the end of listening comprehension.