第二节：短文写作（共1题；满分30分）

请根据以下提示，并结合具体事例，用英语写一篇短文。

Small things make a big difference. The small things we do can make us a responsible member of the society.

注意：①无须写标题；

②除诗歌外，文体不限；

③内容必须结合你生活中的具体事例；

④文中不得透露个人姓名和学校名称；

⑤词数不少于120，如引用提示语则不计入总词数。

绝密★启用前

2014年普通高等学校招生全国统一考试（湖北卷）

E

For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets, and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue, the elevator’s role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk, the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally (水平地), and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的) columns.

If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience—one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we’re hanging from a cable in a long passage.

In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it,” Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.

　　 Today, as the world’s urban population explodes, and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America’s total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine’s “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”—are a force that’s becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.

67. What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A. The general view of elevators.

B. The particular interests of experts.

C. The desire for a remarkable machine.

D. The enthusiasm for transport vehicles.

68. The author’s purpose in mentioning cars is ______.

　 A. to contrast their functions with elevators’

　 B. to emphasize the importance of elevators

C. to reveal their secret war against elevators

D. to explain people’s preference for elevators

69. According to Prof. Bernard, what has made the elevator ride different from other life experiences?

A. Vertical direction.

B. Lack of excitement.

C. Little physical space.

D. Uncomfortable conditions.

70. The author urges readers to consider ______.

A. the exact number of elevator lovers

B. the serious future situation of elevators

C. the role of elevators in city development

D. the relationship between cars and elevators

D

You’ve flown halfway around the world; you’ve sniffed out this place that nobody in Falongland or Thailand seems to have ever heard of; so what on earth is there to do here? You consider this question as you sink into an old wooden beach chair that holds you above the sand.

It was a long journey from Bangkok to Huaplee. By the time you found the bus station and got yourself sorted out, it took almost as long as the flight from Falongland.

Huaplee is located just south of Hua Hin, about two hundred kilometres from Bangkok, down the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. Not many tourists find this place, and the ones that do wonder if finding it has been their purpose all along.

There’s an apparent laziness that surrounds you here. It’s what this place offers, and it’s free of charge. The small waves that tap the shoreline seem to slow everything down. You settle into your beach chair in preparation for a long rest. You sit there and watch the sea.

It’s early afternoon, so the cook comes out and asks what you’d like to eat this evening. Before long he’s rushed off to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever it was that you ordered—every meal fresh and to order. No menu here.

There is no poolside noise here but just that wonderfully warm, clear blue sea. There’s no street noise. The only sounds are the murmurs of nature.

For now you just count your blessings (福祉), listing them in the sand with your toe (脚趾). You don’t have to worry about being late for work. You don’t have to do anything.

The beach to your right stretches off to the horizon (地平线), slowly narrowing to nothingness only to re-emerge again on your left, now steadily widening until it covers the chair beneath you. Sand to your left and sand to your right; it’s unbroken, endless. No start, no end, just sand, sun, and peace. Step off it, and you re-enter the world of traffic, stress, work, and hurry.

Normally you’re the type who can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, but you’re on Huaplee Lazy Beach now and, in the right frame of mind, it stretches all the way around the world.

“How could it take me so long to find it?” you wonder.

63. When the author first went to Huaplee Beach, ______.

A. he found it unworthwhile

B. he failed to sort himself out

C. he became sensitive to smell

D. he had difficulty in finding it

64. What is special about the food service at Huaplee Beach?

　 A. No menu.

　 B. Free food.

　 C. Self service.

　 D. Quick delivery.

65. In the author’s opinion, a tourist can enjoy Huaplee Beach most when he ______.

A. sits in a beach chair

B. forgets his daily routine

C. plans a detailed schedule

D. draws pictures in the sand

66. What does the author imply by his question at the end of the passage?

A. He shouldn’t have counted his blessings.

B. He should have understood the wonder of nature.

C. He shouldn’t have spent so much time on the trip.

D. He should have come to the place earlier.

C

Working with a group of baboons (狒狒) in the Namibian desert, Dr. Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology, Cambridge University set baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves. To work out how brave or anxious the baboons were, Dr. Carter presented them either with a novel food or a threat in the form of a model of a poisonous snake.

She found that personality had a major impact on learning. The braver baboons learnt, but the shy ones did not learn the task although they watched the baboon perform the task of finding the novel food just as long as the brave ones did. In effect, despite being made aware of what to do, they were still too shy to do what the experienced baboon did.

The same held true for anxious baboons compared with calm ones. The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.

This mismatch between collecting social information and using it shows that personality plays a key role in social learning in animals, something that has previously been ignored in studies on how animals learn to do things. The findings are significant because they suggest that animals may perform poorly in cognitive (认知的) tasks not because they aren’t clever enough to solve them, but because they are too shy or nervous to use the social information.

The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning. If some individuals are unable to get information from others because they don’t associate with the knowledgeable individuals, or they are too shy to use the information once they have it, information may not travel between all group members, preventing the formation of a culture based on social learning.

59. What is the first paragraph mainly about?　

A. The design of Dr. Carter’s research.

B. The results of Dr. Carter’s research.

C. The purpose of Dr. Carter’s research.

D. The significance of Dr. Carter’s research.

60. According to the research, which baboons are more likely to complete a new learning task?

A. Those that have more experience.

B. Those that can avoid potential risks.

C. Those that like to work independently.

D. Those that feel anxious about learning.

61. Which best illustrates the “mismatch” mentioned in Paragraph 4?

A. Some baboons are intelligent but slow in learning.

B. Some baboons are shy but active in social activities.

C. Some baboons observe others but don’t follow them.

D. Some baboons perform new tasks but don’t concentrate.

62. Dr. Carter’s findings indicate that our culture might be formed through ______.

A. storing information

B. learning from each other

C. understanding different people

D. travelling between social groups

B

London’s newest skyscraper (摩天大楼) is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better.

The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶). He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren’t regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin, sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆) of the ships that were once on the river Thames.

The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.

Before building work began, a lot of people didn’t want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.

Other critics don’t like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.

The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.

55. London’s newest skyscraper is called the Shard because of ______.

A. its cost

B. its size

C. its shape

D. its height

56. When he designed the Shard, Piano wanted it to ______.

A. change London’s skyline

B. inherit London’s tradition

C. imitate the Egyptian style

D. attract potential visitors

57. The critics who refer to social division think the Shard ______.

A. is only preferred by the rich

B. is intended for wealthy people

C. is far away from the poor area

D. is popular only with Londoners

58. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. The Shard: Cheers and Claps

B. The Shard: Work of a Great Architect

C. The Shard: New Symbol of London?

D. The Shard: A Change for the Better?

30. Check carrots, potatoes, onions and any other vegetables ______ and immediately use or throw away any which show signs of rotting.

A. in demand　　　 　 B. in store　　 　　　　 C. on loan　　　　 D. on sale

29. Hardly had Sabrina finished her words when Albert said ______, “Don’t be so mean,” pointing a finger of warning at her.

A. dreadfully　　　 　 B. guiltily　　 　　　　 C. indirectly　　 　　　 D. sharply