江苏省无锡市新吴区2018-2019学年八年级下学期英语期中测试试卷

—________.

—That's why they seem satisfied with their factories.

—Here's the remote control. Choose any one that you like.

—Well, I ________ in Shanghai on vacation for two months.

—________? He's such a careful guy.

    Before the day I stepped into junior high school, I had always thought that as long as I could read, speak, and listen well, English will be a "no problem" 1 for me, and that English grammar was a piece of cake. My father 2 to tell me the importance of grammar but I just wouldn't listen. I didn't understand what's so important about the whole "grammar" thing.

    This misunderstanding didn't last long. Something unexpected happened. It was only 3that day, and I would never forget that day. I was just a young and seventh grader when our English teacher 4 to give us a quiz on English grammar. We had to fill in blanks. After I read the sentence in question number one, different kinds of answers which I thought were possible came into my mind. All of them seemed right and made sense to me, but there was only one 5 answer to it, but I didn't know which one exactly. I was shocked, but I said to myself "never mind", and went on to question number two. Unexpectedly, the same trouble that just happened, appeared right in front of me again, and it just kept happening again and again until I heard our teacher say 6"Time's up." I had to turn in my answer sheet 7 so many unsure answers on it.

    I was really sad about the whole thing. And since then, I've 8 that in English, writing grammar is quite different from spoken grammar. My father had been trying to tell me the important role grammar plays in learning English. Well, it's 9 too late to learn anything, including ENGLISH! So, I started to work on my grammar skills, and thanks to that bad 10, I really learned a lot from it! Now, I'm still on my journey of learning grammar, and I am enjoying it.

    How do foreigners feel about learning Chinese? Some students who were awarded the Confucius Institute Scholarship were interviewed by China Today. The following are their views and opinions.

    Tara: Nicole, I have a problem.

    Nicole: What kind of problem?

    Tara: I have a job interview tomorrow, and I heard that the boss will ask to see my Facebook profile. I'm not comfortable with that.

    Nicole: That's illegal in some countries, like Canada. Can you refuse?

    Tara: I want to, but I'm afraid that if I do, I won't get the job!

    Nicole: I guess I see the boss's point. Looking at a candidate'sFacebook page will tell him a lot about the person's life and personality.

    Tara: That's true. Most of my life is on Facebook. My profile could tell him about my hobbies, my interests and what my friends think of me. I find the idea of showing a boss that much personal information disturbing.

    Nicole: Companies run background checks on possible employees all the time. And this is just another way for him to see if you're trustworthy. Besides, I've seen your Facebook page, and you don't have anything to hide.

    Tara: Maybe not, but my friends might still post things on my Facebook page that make me look bad.

    Nicole: I think the boss will probably realize the differences between your posts and your friends' posts.

    Tara: He might, but I'm also worried that something the boss sees on Facebook could be misleading. For example, I wore a really crazy costume to my friend's party last week. I wouldn't want him to think I always do strange things like that.

    Nicole: Yeah, but I don't think the boss would assume that one picture shows how you always act. I'm sure he'll be pretty cautious about drawing conclusions too quickly based on Facebook.

    Is stress from work or school making you sick? If so, you may belong to a growing number of people suffering from serious stress. Experts have called the problem the "Black Death of the 21st century." The original Black Death is estimated (据估计) to have killed 25 million people in Europe in the 14th century. While no one expects stress to be quite that deadly, it is still a serious matter.

    A recent study has shown that stress can affect our ability to go to work. Stress is now the number one reason workers stay home sick four continuous (不间断) weeks or more.

    What has led to the growing stress felt in the workplace? The bad economic situation is a major reason. Record numbers of layoffs (裁员) have increased workers' worry about losing their jobs. Layoffs have also increased the amount of work workers are expected to do. People then work longer hours, which often creates problems for them at home, causing even more stress.

    According to Professor Cary Cooper, writer of over 120 books, stress often leads to changes in manner of acting. You may notice that you're having a hard time centering around things. You may find yourself losing your temper (脾气) easily. You might even seem to have lost your sense of humor. Other stress-related problems include difficulty in sleeping, overeating or drinking in excess.

    Stress must be managed by workers themselves and by the company. Workers can take steps to manage stress. They can create a suitable plan and have breaks from time to time. Bosses can help by showing workers that their opinions may be important. They can also allow workers to have some say in decisions that matter their jobs.

    Everyone should work together to look for ways to cope with on-the-job stress.

—Yes, I did. I was in a hurry. It (not rain) when I left.

—No. She (stay) there for another week.

    When a disaster happens, you might find yourself without water, gas and electricity. You might even need to leave your home with little warning. But disasters don't have to surprise you. Plan before something bad happens.

    Hold a family meeting. Discuss the types of disasters that could happen. Then plan a way to make your family be with each other if they get away. Choose two places for everyone to go to if it isn't safe to return home. The first should be near your house. You can go there in a very dangerous situation like a fire. The second meeting place should be outside your neighborhood. This will give your family a place to come together if you must evacuate(疏散撤离).

    Next, choose a contact (联络) person outside your area. After a disaster, it is often easier to exchange information or talk with other people over a long-distance call than a local one. A contact person can pass messages between family members if they can't meet or get in touch with each other.

    Then create a family disaster work-box. It should include everything your family needs to survive for at least three days. Place your tools in a bag, so you can carry it if you need to evacuate. When getting ready for it, remember that different people have different needs, including special items necessary for not only elderly but young members of your family.

can often make me feel close to them.

The UN only 51 member counties at the very beginning when it was set up. Now it has 193 member countries.

Students their reviews about the article when the foreign teacher entered the room.

Wu Jin was!

Jason being a designer of LEGO when he was young.

the school life in Manchester in the past few months?