浙江省台州市温岭市泽国五校联考2019届九年级上学期英语期中考试试卷

    Everyone changes in his or her life. 1 these changes take place because of an experience. 2 me, high school was such an experience. High school has taught me about myself, and that is the most3 lesson I have ever learned. It has taken 4 from what I used to be to what I am now.

    I used to be quiet and 5, not wanting to show my inner self (内在自我). I would never talk about 6 was in my mind. I was afraid that someone would criticize (批评) me or tell me I was wrong. I 7 too much about what others thought of me.

    Now I am no longer afraid to tell others my 8, and let them know how I feel. I have changed a lot with the 9 of my teachers and friends. They put their confidence (信任) in me and told me that I could 10 in doing anything. They taught me that it is not a big deal to fail in 11, as long as I have learned from my mistakes. By 12 the courage to believe in myself, I have become much 13 in mind. The thought of a challenge used to make me feel afraid, 14 now I want to work even harder to 15 the difficulties that stand in my way. I have realized that the ideas I hid in the past can now be contributed (贡献) to the world.

    Ancient China produced many types of beautiful works of art. Among them, calligraphy (书法), poetry (诗歌) and painting were the most famous. Often they would be put together in art. These became important starting with the Song dynasty.

    Calligraphy is the art of handwriting. In the old time the Chinese considered writing as an important form of art. Calligraphers (书法家) would practice for years to learn to write perfectly, but with style. Each of the over 40,000 characters needed to be written correctly. And each stroke (笔画) in a character had to be written in a certain order.

    Poetry was also an important form of art. Great poets were famous all over the country, but all educated people were expected to write poetry. During the Tang dynasty poetry was so important that writing poetry was part of the examinations to become a civil servant (文官) and work for the government.

    Chinese painting was often connected with calligraphy. It is one of the oldest artistic traditions in the world. The most traditional way of Chinese painting is known as "national" or "native painting (国画)", which is quite different from Western painting. People can draw mountains, homes, birds, trees and water on it.

    A few months ago, a friend of mine told me something about a woman named Virginia Feigles.

    Virginia Feigles had always planned to go to college. She couldn't make her dream come true when she was young because her parents were poor. She got married early, and soon became a mother. Year after year, time passed quickly. But Feigles never forgot her dream. After working as a hairdresser (理发师) for twenty years, she finally decided to change her life, when she was already forty-four.

    Feigles first went to a night school to learn high school lessons. After a few months, she applied (申请) to Bucknell University. It was hard for her to study in the university. She couldn't understand what the teacher taught in class. She also had to work at night. After work, she kept learning until very late. She thought about giving up many times, but she never really did that. After a lot of such hard days, Feigles graduated (毕业) successfully and soon became an engineer!

    I heard this story when I was at the bottom of my life. I was no longer young and I lost my job. Feigles' story inspired (激励) me a lot! "If Virginia can do it, I can too!" I decided to make some change to my life, too!

    Harry is a curious (好奇的) boy. He likes asking questions. So, when Harry saw a tree next to the gate, he asked his dad, "What is that tree made of?"

    Dad gave his answer, "Wood … branches (树枝) … leaves."

    "What's that rock over there made of?"

    "Rock," Dad answered quickly.

    "How about the car? What is it made of?" Harry asked again.

    Dad thought for a moment and answered, "Plastic, metal, and glass mostly, and maybe some rubber."

    "How about the air?"

    "It's made of air. Scientists have found many kinds of air and mixtures (混合物) of those kinds of air. Everything is made of stuff. It is like Mom's pantry (食品储藏室), but we're not baking bread or cookies here. We're making stuff. There are about 100 ingredients (成分) called elements (元素) to make everything, but most things have only a few of them."

    "Even me?" Harry asked in surprise.

    "Yes, you're mostly carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, but there are other elements in you. Each piece is so small that we can't even see it."

    Harry was happy about his father's answers. And dad continued reading his newspaper, only to be interrupted a few minutes later with another question, "And the trees then?"

    Most of the traditional arts in China are (影响) by history and people's (每天的) life. Cloth tiger is one of them. The cloth tiger has been popular since the ancient times of China. And people still (传播) it to each different part of China today. It is a cloth-made toy with strong (本地的) color. During the Dragon Boat Festival, it is popular to make the cloth tiger for children to bring them health and keep them strong. Most of them are (制作) by the clever country women. They have created different-shaped cloth tigers with different (材料). These cloth tigers usually wear yellow or red cloth. They have large bodies and small lambs, and look very (生气勃勃的).People believe that a cloth tiger in the house can keep the (整个的) family safe, so it is also (广泛地) called "Tiger for Protecting House". And it is a good present to (亲戚) and friends.

    In the past, the people in Wenling lived a poor . The houses were old and small. Pollution was very serious, and there was rubbish everywhere. The traffic was not convenient, so few visitors came here.

    Now great changes have taken place in Wenling. The environment has more beautiful. The rivers have turned and the sky has turned bluer. There are trees, flowers and grass everywhere. There many large and bright buildings. Many people have their own cars. Every year, thousands of people from all the country come to our city.

    We're sure Wenling will become better and better in the future.

    Many students have hobbies, like reading, painting and looking animals. Some hobbies are relaxing and others are creative. Hobbies can make you (grow) as a person, develop your interests and help you learn new skills.

    David Smith is a student, and his hobby writing. During the summer of 2011, he spent four weeks on a summer camp. As well as the usual activities, such sailing, climbing and mountain biking, there was a writing workshop with a professional writer. "She asked us (imagine) that we were in a story. Then we wrote about our experience at the camp."

    In senior high school, David wrote a book about teenage life. Many teenagers love his book, and as a result, David has become a (success) young writer.

    David has been very (luck) because his hobby has brought enjoyment and success to (he), but he is also interested in many other things. "I like playing volleyball, too," says David. "I spend some of my free time (play) volleyball for my school team. Maybe I'll write more books in the future, I'm not sure."

    There are many other interesting things to do in life, and we should try to do something new or different.

    If you ask people of different countries "Could you tell me the way to the post office?" you will get different answers.

    In Japan, people use landmarks（路标）instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, "Go straight down to the corner.  The post office is across from the bus stop. "

    In Kansas, America, there are no towns or buildings within miles. So instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distance. For example, people will say, "Go north two miles.  "

    People in Greece sometimes do not even try to give directions. They will often say, "Follow me."

    Sometimes if a person doesn't know the answer to your question, he or she might say, "Sorry, I have no idea." But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers "I don't know." They usually give an answer, but often a wrong one. A visitor can often get lost in Yucatan!

    You might not understand a person's words, but maybe you can understand his or her body language. He or she will usually point to the right direction. Go on in that direction and you may find the post office!

注意：1）报告必须涵盖图中所有要点，可适当发挥；

2）你的观点至少两条，文中不能出现真实姓名和校名；

3）词数在80以上（文章首句已给出，但不计入总词数）。

    Homework Help App becomes more and more popular among the students in China. Is it helpful to us students? We did a survey on it.