湖北省武汉市武昌区2015届高三元月调考英语试题(2)

A

While growing up in Jersey in the 1960s, I always seemed to be building things. One summer I build a model car with my father. It was a simple affair, and as a capable 12-year-old, I could have easily done it alone. But my father spent the time together with me, and before I knew it, we were both out in the garage, working away.

I wish I had thought about this when I was raising my first son. We never built anything together. Oh, we had a lot of fun, for sure. But we never undertook a common work of our hands.

A few years ago, when Anton, my second son, asked if we could build a treehouse in the big silver maple behind our house, his suggestion immediately reminded me of the memory. Yes, I thought. Of course. My second chance. And so, one day while Anton was in school and I had some free time, I bought some wood. But one thing led to another and we got only as far as the ladder and a simple platform. His vision for the treehouse was not fulfilled that summer, and the three following summers saw me involved with other things. In the middle of our quiet supper last night, I looked at Anton, a high school student now

and asked, “Anton, are you still interested in finishing the treehouse?” “Sure, Dad,” he said, and within that “sure” was contained, perhaps, his own self-awareness of a childhood to which he was still attached.

We continued where we had left off. I was surprised at how good a worker Anton had become. Where four years ago all he could really do with confidence was hammer nails, now he was measuring and cutting. In one moment that took my breath away, he attempted to center a support beam(支撑梁)while looking to me for direction. “Is it centered, Dad?” I waved him a little to the right. Then a little more. Then I said. “Perfect.”

And it was perfect. As was this second chance, I finally realized that my father hadn't had to help me build that model car in 1966. He wanted to. And that made all the difference. 51 Not having built anything together with his first son, the author felt _____. A. disappointed B. satisfied C. regretful D. relieved 52. Why didn't they finish building the treehouse at first?

A. It was too hot those summers. B. Anton wasn't confident enough.

C. They gradually lost interest in it. D. They were both occupied with other things. 53 From the fourth paragraph, we can see that the father _____.

A. was proud of his son B. missed the last chance

C. felt content with the treehouse D. hoped to finish the work perfectly 54. It can be inferred that the author realized _____. A. the quiet passing of childhood B. the difficulty in raising children C. the children's dependence on their father

D. the significance of undertaking a common work with children

B

The Sieferts are the kind of environmentally conscious family who has solar panels atop their home. They use timers on their kids' showers and have planted drought-tolerant landscaping. But they feel kind of guilt. “I haven’t thought about the pool as much as I probably should,” said Annette Siefert.

As California's drought worsens, swimming pools have become a target for those who think the classic backyard greens waste water. Some water districts have banned new pools from being filled and have limited how much water existing pools can use.

But some of those agencies are walking back the rules as they make a surprising discovery: Pools aren't the water wasters some have made them out to be. Analyses by various water districts, along with scientific studies, conclude that pools and their surrounding landscapes use about the same amount of water as a lawn (草坪) of the same size. Over time, pools might even use less water. With pool covers, experts say water evaporation (蒸发) can be cut by almost half, making pools significantly less wasteful than grass and about as efficient as drought-tolerant landscaping.

Facing complaints over a recent ban on filling pools, the Santa Margarita Water District conducted its own water-use analysis. It found that pools require thousands of gallons of water to fill initially, but they use about 8,000 gallons less water than a traditional landscape after that. By the third year, the analysis found, the savings add up, and a pool's cumulative water use falls below that of a lawn.

Water agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have come to similar conclusions. Armed with new information, Santa Margarita Water District officials will reconsider their ban next week.

“We want to respect the people's rights to use their property. There are many families we know that have saved for pools,” said Jonathan Volzke, spokesman for the 155,000-customer district. “But at the same time, the reality around us is that we're in the third year of a serious drought, and we don't know if

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