江西省2018年中考英语试卷（含听力音频）

—Sorry he is still in his meeting.

—They can ________ it is for that lesson.

    There are purple clothes, purple handbags, purple bicycles, purple furniture, even purple computers! So purple is one of the most1colors today. But in the past, purple was a very expensive and unusual color. Let's take a look at the rich2of the color purple.

    Some scientists believe that the first plants to appear on Earth over 500 million years ago3looked purple, not green. Plants today are green because4use green chlorophyll (叶绿素) to produce energy.5these early plants probably used something called retinal, which is a dark purple color.

    During the time of the roman Empire (37 BC-476 AD), it was very6to make purple dye (染料). The dye came from sea snails (海螺) .But10.000 dead sea snails7you just one gram (克)of purple dye… as well as a very bad smell! This8purple dye was called Tyrian purple, and it was the preferred9of emperors.

    In 16th--century England, purple was10for the king's family members. Queen Elizabeth Is clothes were purple, but ordinary people were not allowed to11the color.

    In 1856. William Perkin, an 18-year-old12student, noticed something strange while doing an experiment (实验). The chemicals (化学药品) he used to clean his instruments13with the chemicals he used in his experiment and produced a bright purple color. This14Perkin to start a company using this chemical mixture to make purple dye. The dye was much15than sea snail dye. Thanks to Perkin, now anyone can afford to wear purple clothes.

    The planet Mars is the closest and most similar planet to Earth. It is veryto scientists. For example, Mars has seasons withweather, but other planets have the same temperatures all year round. Was thereon Mars?

    To find out, scientists needif Mars ever had water. In 2004. two robot explores (探测器), or 'rovers', called Spirit and Opportunity were sent to look forof water. These rovers can drive over rocksall kind of rough ground. They can also use cameras and send photos to Earth. First, the two rovers found chemicals and patterns (图文) in the rocks that were probably made by water. Then, they moved to another area andother rocks which may have been created by water. Now scientists think there was probably water on the planet long ago. Today  are still not sure if there was life on the mars. Theyneed more information to decide. The discoveries of the two rovers answered some old questions, but they also brought up many new ones.

    Science museum

    (The Science of Survival, IMAX&SIMEX)

    The Science Museum has something for everyone. Entry to the museum is free. Offer applies to IMAX 3D Cinema, SIMEX and The Science of Survival exhibition only.

    IMAX ￡7.50

    SIMEX ￡4.00

    The Science of Survival ￡6.00

    Opening Times: Daily 10: 00-18: 00 Visit Time: 2 hours

    National Gallery

    Opening Times:

    Daily 10am-7pm Wednesday until 9 pm

    Admission:

    ￡8 adults. ￡4 students, under 12s free

    Tickets:

    Available daily from 10 am

    Telephone: 020 7747 2885

    Visituswww.nationalgallery.com

    ZSL London Z

    There are over 12, 000 amazing animals for you to see. These are just a few things which make a visit to ZSL London Zoo a great day.

    Ticket Price: ￡ 17.00

    Opening Times: Daily 10: 00-17: 30

    Visit Time: 4 hours

    A young woman turns around and around quickly, and jumps high. In the background, a young girl reads a rejection (拒绝) letter from a ballet school. You have the wrong body for ballet, 'it says,' and at thirteen, you are too old. This was one of the most popular advertisements (广告) of 2014 and it describes American ballet Theatre's principal (主要的) dancer Misty Copeland.

    This was not a real letter. But Copeland says it is very similar to letters from her childhood. While many dancers start at the age of three. Copeland only began to study ballet in 1995 as a thirteen-year-old. People often told her that she was too old, or that she didn't have the perfect body type (She is only 157 cm tall). Her family moved a lot, and it was sometimes difficult for her to attend ballet classes. But Copeland loved dancing and did not want to give up. She stayed with her ballet teacher during the week and spent time with her family only at the weekend. This was a difficult life, but she worked hard and won her first national competition when she was fourteen years old. Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and performed in many ballets over the next few years. In 2007, she became a solo (单独的) performer, and in 2015 she became its principal dancer.

    Copeland is now a dancer, author and Broadway performer. She also stars in the 2015 film A Ballerina's Tale. So what's next? According to Copeland, anything is possible: "My career (职业) really is just now beginning.'

    Many people say dolphins are intelligent. They seem to be able to think, understand and learn things quickly. But are they as smart as humans, or are they more like cats and dogs? Dolphins use their brains quite differently from the way humans do. But scientists say dolphins and humans are very similar in some ways. How?

    Like humans, every dolphin has its own "name". The name is a special whistle (哨声). Each dolphin chooses a specific (特有的) whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday Dolphins are like people in other ways, too. They "talk" to each other about a lot of things-such as their age, their feelings, and finding food. They also use a system of sounds and body language to communicate. Understanding dolphin conversation is not easy for humans. No one "speaks dolphin" yet, but some scientists are trying to learn.

    Dolphins are also social animals. They live in groups called pods, and they often join others from different pods to play games and have fun--just like people. Scientists believe playing together is something only intelligent animals do.

    Dolphins and humans are similar in another way: both species make plans for getting things they want. In the seas of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use an intelligent plan to get food. When there are fish near a boat, dolphins signal (发信号) to the fishermen to put their nets in the water. Using this method, the men can catch a lot of fish. Why do dolphins help the men? There is an advantage for them they get to eat some of the fish that escape (逃脱) from the net.

    Every year on 15th October, over 200 million people around the world take part in Global Handwashing Day. But why do we have a day for something we do all the time? Well, research shows that not enough people often wash their hands with soap. Experts believe that this leads to the deaths of millions of people every year.

    Sidibe, a public health expert says soap is the most beautiful invention in public health'. Washing your hands with soap can have a huge impact on reducing (减少) the spread of diseases. Handwashing with soap prevents babies from getting ill and keeps children healthy and in school.

    However, washing hands with soap does not happen as often as you might think. This is partly because there aren't enough resources (资源) in poorer countries, but it's also because for many people, handwashing is simply not part of their everyday life. It's not easy to get people to change habits they learned in early childhood -- but this is what Global Handwashing Day wants to do.

    In 2008, the Indian cricket team joined around 100 million Indian schoolchildren in washing their hands to promote (促进) the first ever Global Handwashing Day. Every year since then, many different events have been held around the world. In 2014. Global Handwashing Day was used in the fight against Ebola, a very serious disease, with events held in affected (受感染的) African countries.

    Today, local and national leaders continue to use the day to spread the message about the importance of clean hands. The hope is that handwashing becomes a necessary part of people's lives and improves the health of millions around the world.

    Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: Here, we look at two examples

    A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability.The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

    Think about violinists in an orchestra (管弦乐团). When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

    Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke (中风) patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing.Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, including the damaged (损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.

    Music improves concentration (注意力), memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities.Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp (敏锐的) as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable, it's also good for us in many other ways.

(Sandra and Luke plan their trip to Cape Town. S=Sandra L=Luke)

S: OK,that' s the flight(航班).Let's look for a hotel now.

L: Three nights--Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Are there any hotels near the airport?

S: Yes, there are. But they are expensive. Just a minute… no, there aren't any cheap hotels near the airport. They are all expensive.  

L: Wow! Well, what about a youth hostel(青年旅社)? Is there a youth hostel near the airport?

S: OK, let's see. I don't think so no, there isn't. I don't like youth hostels.  

L: OK. Let's look in the city centre. Are there any cheap hotels there?

S: Yes, of course there are

L: Well, that's good. And is there a bus to the city centre?

S: A bus from the airport? Yes, there is.  There isn't a train, but that's OK.

L: And there are taxis, too.

S:  OK, so let's look at these hotels.

要求:1）从表格中任选一个主题,合理安排活动;

2）短文条理清楚,行文连贯,内容可适当发挥;

3）短文中不能出现真实的人名和地名;

4）词数不少于80,开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。

    Hello, friends. I've got a plan for you which may help you learn about Chinese culture. First of all, I'd like to introduce

    Hope you will have a good time.