2022-2023学年高二英语上学期期中试题A卷第一节（共10小题；每小题2分，满分30分）阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。ABenjamin West, the father of American painting, showed his talent for art when he was only six years of age. But he did not know about brushes before a visitor told him he needed one. In those days, a brush was made from camels hair. There were no camels nearby. Benjamin decided that cat hair would work instead. He cut some fur from the family cat to make a brush.The brush did not last long. Soon Benjamin needed more fur. Before long, the cat began to look ragged （蓬乱）. His father said that the cat must be sick. Benjamin was forced to admit what he had been doing.The cats lot was about to improve. That year, one of Benjamins cousins, Mr. Pennington, came to visit. He was impressed with Benjamins drawings. When he went home, he sent Benjamin a box of paint and some brushes. He also sent six engravings （版画）by an artist. These were the first pictures and first real paint and brushes Benjamin had ever seen. In 1747，when Benjamin was nine years old，Mr. Pennington returned for another visit .He was amazed at what Benjamin had done with his gift. He asked Benjamins parents if he might take the boy to Philadelphia for a visit. In the city, Mr. Pennington gave Benjamin materials for creating oil paintings. The boy began a landscape (风景) painting. Williams, a well-known painter, came to see his work. Williams was impressed with Benjamin and gave him two classic books on painting to take home. The books were long and dull. Benjamin could read only a little, having been a poor student. But he later said,” Those two books were my panions by day, and under my pillow at night.” While it is likely that he understood very little of the books, they were his introduction to classical paintings. The nine-year-old boy decided then that he would be an artist.1.Whatisthetextmainlyabout?A.BenjaminsvisittoPhiladelphia.B.WilliamsinfluenceonBenjamin.C.ThebeginningofBenjaminslifeasanartist.D.ThefriendshipbetweenBenjaminandPennington.2. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 3 suggest?A. The cat would be closely watched.B. The cat would get some medical care.C. Benjamin would leave his home shortly.D. Benjamin would have real brushes soon.3. What did Pennington do to help Benjamin develop his talent?A. He took him to see painting exhibitions.B. He provided him with painting materials.C. He sent him to a school in Philadelphia.D. He taught him how to make engravings.4. Williams two books helped Benjamin to _.A. master the use of paintsB. appreciate landscape paintingsC. get to know other paintersD. make up his mind to be a painterBThe English language is full of phrases about the weather. Some of these phrases are easy to understand, but others are not really about the weather at all. If you say you “hit roughweather”, you may not be struck by a real storm, but you do experience difficulties or problems. If you dont know whatsuch phrases mean, they might leave you“in a fog (雾)”!In English, you can “shoot the breeze”, or have an informal chat. But things can also be a breeze. If you take an exam and find it very easy, youd tell your friends: “It was a breeze!” The wind can also bring information. You can “get wind of” a piece of news, and if someone“knows which way the wind blows”, they have a good idea about how things will work out. But dont“throw caution (警惕) to the wind”that means taking a great risk!Clouds sometimes bring rain, and in English they often represent problems or difficulties. If someone“sees a cloud on the horizon (地平线)”, there may be problems ahead. And if someone is“under a cloud”, then people think the person might have done something wrong. But clouds are not always bad; in fact, people say that “every cloud has a silver lining”. This means that there is a good side to every situation, no matter how bad it may seem. You may even end up “on cloud nine”, which means you are very happy! But some people have their “heads in the clouds”, not paying attention to reality.No one likes to be stuck in the rain or storm, so its no surprise that phrases about them are generally negative. When someone says“it never rains but it pours”, they are plaining (抱怨) that when things go wrong, they go very wrong. People who talk about “weathering a storm” just want to get through a difficult period or situation.5. What does the underlined part “suchphrases” in the first paragraph refer to?A. The old phrasesaboutthe weather.B. The funny phrasesaboutthe weather.C. The simple phrasesaboutthe weather.D. The confusing phrasesaboutthe weather.6. It may be dangerous when you _.A. know which way the wind blowsB. find that something is a breezeC. get wind of a piece of newsD. throw caution to the wind7. If you look at something in a positive way, you may say _.A. you are under a clou