一、语法选择。
A long time ago, there was a king. He loved music so much that he wanted the best instrument.
One day, 1 man offered the king a harp(竖琴) and he said it was a special harp 2 could produce the most beautiful sound in the world. No one knew the harp's true magic.
The king believed that and took it to the palace at once. 3 when he played it, the harp sounded terrible. Many other people tried it as well. They all agreed that the harp was useless and the king was fooled. In the end, the harp 4 out as rubbish.
A poor little girl later found the harp. Although she didn't know 5, she decided to have a try. Then, she spent months and years 6 it. The music she produced was never perfect, but each time it sounded much 7.
Then one day, 8, the harp suddenly started to play the most beautiful music. It was in fact a magic harp, and must be played by someone who would put in the necessary effort.
The king heard the music and called the girl to the palace. To 9 surprise, the girl was playing his old harp! After he heard the beautiful music, he was filled 10 joy. In the end, he made the girl his own private musician.

()1. A. a B. an C. the D. /
()2. A. where B. which C. who D. whom
()3. A. If B. Because C. But D. Though
()4. A. throws B. is thrown C. threw D. was thrown
()5. A. who it belonged to
B. who did it belong to
C. how she could play it
D. how could she play it
()6. A. practising B. to practise C. keeping D. to keep
()7. A. good B. better C. best D. the best
()8. A. surprised B. surprisedly C. surprising D. surprisingly
()9. A. he B. him C. his D. himself
()10. A. in B. with C. of D. out

1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. C 6. A 7. B 8. D 9. C 10. B

【分析】本题为语法选择题，围绕竖琴的故事展开，考查冠词、定语从句、连词、被动语态、宾语从句、非谓语动词、形容词比较级、副词、代词、介词等初中英语核心语法知识。解题时需结合上下文语境分析句子逻辑，明确句子结构，掌握相关语法规则，逐一推导每个空的正确选项。
【解析】1. 考查冠词：此处泛指“一个男人”，man以辅音音素开头，用不定冠词a，选A。
2. 考查定语从句：先行词是harp（物），关系代词在从句中作主语，用which，选B。
3. 考查连词：前句说国王带回竖琴，后句说弹奏难听，是转折关系，用But，选C。
4. 考查被动语态：竖琴是“被扔”，且动作发生在过去，用一般过去时的被动语态was thrown，选D。
5. 考查宾语从句：宾语从句用陈述语序，结合语境是“不知道怎么弹它”，排除疑问语序的B、D，A选项“它属于谁”不符合，选C。
6. 考查非谓语动词：spend time (in) doing sth是固定搭配，意为“花费时间做某事”，此处是练习，用practising，选A。
7. 考查形容词比较级：much修饰比较级，结合语境“每次听起来更好”，用better，选B。
8. 考查副词：此处修饰整个句子，用副词surprisingly（令人惊讶地），选D。
9. 考查代词：to one's surprise是固定搭配，意为“令某人惊讶的是”，one's对应the king的形容词性物主代词his，选C。
10. 考查介词：be filled with是固定搭配，意为“充满”，选B。
【答案】1.A 2.B 3.C 4.D 5.C 6.A 7.B 8.D 9.C 10.B
【知识点】冠词用法、定语从句、被动语态
【点评】本题以故事为载体，综合考查初中英语基础语法，需结合语境和语法规则解题，是典型的语法应用类题目。
【难度系数】0.6

二、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。选项中有一项为多余选项。
Have you ever had the experience that while you are taking a test, the melody of “APT, APT, ...” remains in your head out of control? Although the songs aren’t played now, they can not get out of your brain. They are known as earworms.
An earworm can be kept in your head after you listen to the music. But it can also happen if something brings back a memory of the song. 1. That’s why it is seen as a common thing.

Why do we get earworms? 2. They have been doing some research into what makes a particular part of music so catchy. A catchy piece of music means it is very easy to learn and can be kept in your brain for a long period.
What causes the human brain to repeat the same song at the very beginning? 3. ______ But long ago, we passed down information through songs. So, we may have developed ways to keep music in our head in order to remember valuable and useful information.
Whatever the reason is, when a song can’t get out of your brain, it can be unpleasant! 4. You can listen to another song or try to do something else, or tell others about your earworm.
5. Then perhaps you should just sit back and try to enjoy the earworm!

A. This is still a mystery.
B. There is a song in your mind.
C. What if none of these ways work?
D. Scientists have studied earworms for years.
E. Luckily, there may be some useful ways to avoid an earworm.
F. A study shows that almost 90 per cent of people experience earworms.

1. F 2. D 3. A 4. E 5. C

【分析】首先通读短文，明确文章围绕“耳虫（earworms）”展开，介绍其定义、常见性、成因及应对方法。解题时需结合空格前后语句，分析逻辑关系（如因果、顺承、疑问回应等），同时排除多余选项，确保所选选项能使语篇连贯完整。
【解析】1. 空格前说明耳虫是常见现象，空格后解释其常见的原因，选项F“一项研究显示几乎90%的人经历过耳虫”对应“常见”的依据，故1选F；2. 空格后提到科学家开展研究，选项D“科学家已经研究耳虫多年”引出研究主体，与后文衔接，故2选D；3. 空格前提出疑问“是什么导致人脑重复同一首歌”，空格后说明远古传递信息的方式，选项A“这仍然是个谜”承接疑问，符合逻辑，故3选A；4. 空格后列举应对耳虫的方法，选项E“幸运的是，可能有一些有用的方法来避免耳虫”引出方法，故4选E；5. 空格后建议若方法无效则享受耳虫，选项C“如果这些方法都没用呢”承接前文的方法，引出后续假设，故5选C。
【答案】1.F 2.D 3.A 4.E 5.C
【知识点】英语阅读理解（七选五）、语篇逻辑衔接
【点评】本题为英语阅读中的七选五题型，考查学生对语篇上下文逻辑关系的理解与推理能力，需结合语境匹配选项，难度适中。
【难度系数】0.6