广东省惠州市惠城区2020届九年级上学期英语期末考试试卷

    It was getting dark. Paul looked out of the window and signed (叹气). Dad said he could come home by 5:30, but it was almost 7:00. Even if Dad came back, it wouldn't be much fun playing baseball in the dark. Paul walked into his room and threw his baseball into the corner. He tried to do some homework, but 1.

    The phone 2at about 8:00. It was Dad: "Paul, I'm sorry, I have to finish my work at the office tonight. Maybe we can play this weekend. Oh no. How about next weekend...."

    Paul couldn't understand why Dad was so busy. He threw himself into the sofa and soon fell asleep. His book3to the first page.

    The next day at school, Paul didn't hand in his homework. Mrs. Green4is Paul's Chinese teacher is careful and asked him to stay after school. "Paul, you didn't do your homework. This isn't like you. What's wrong? "Paul just sat there quietly." Paul, if you don't want to talk, I 5. I know that something's worrying with you. You need to tell someone."

    As Paul walked home, he thought of what Mrs. Green said. Maybe he didn't do his homework 6he wanted to get his dad's attention. He knew Mrs. Green was right. He decided to take 7advice.

    When Paul got home, he called his dad. But there was no answer. Then it went to voicemail (语音信箱). Paul began talking: "Dad, I can't play with you next weekend. I've got lots of problems 8my homework. Also, I really don't want to spend another day 9out of the window and waiting. Whenever you break our plans, Dad, it hurts me. It's not too late to rebuild our relationship, but we have to start small. Maybe you can help me with my homework sometime. Dad, I love you."

    When Paul ended the call, he felt much relaxed. He didn't know whether his dad would be different, but it didn't matter. He himself changed. He expressed his feelings to the right person. He had10clear head while he was doing his homework that evening.

    My stutter(口吃) had always been much of a problem. I'd had so many specialists(专家) for my speech over the years. It hurt me until I met a new one in the hall.

    "Hello! I'm Mrs. Claussen. I hear you're from Texas!"

    "Ye-Ye-Ye-Yes m-m-m-m-m-m-aam I am..."My heart felt like it was pounding (剧烈跳动)through my chest and my hands were dripping wet.

    "Well," she said with a 1smile. "I've always like Texas."

    She turned out to be the best speech specialist I've ever had, not like 2who told me to clap my hands while speaking. She was different from others. She spent the first several weeks just talking to me — asking me all kinds of questions about myself, 3my feelings. And she listened. She then began to teach me about the speech. Not just about my speech, but about everybody's.

    I 4in my old school and was a pretty good tenor(男高音), but I learned that the new school's singing group was all 5. It was such bad news, for I thought that was the one thing I could really do well- and I could do it .However, Mrs. Claussen finally got me in the group. I felt like she really cared about me as a person, not just a 6student.

    During the next two years, my speech didn't get much better - except with her. When I was in college(大学), things got worse. I once even wanted to know 7I would ever be able to communicate! It was a very sad time, and I often felt alone. When I was feeling really sorry for myself, I remembered Mrs. Claussen had told me whether I could change my speech was all up to me. She had told me to fight for perfect speech, just 8speech. She was right about that. I finally improved my speech greatly.

    Many years have passed, but I think of her from time to time, wondering (想知道)if she had as much 9on her other students as she had on me. I like to think that she did. Her name was Mrs. Claussen... and she 10me. I'll never forget her.

    Some of the greatest problems we face today are the destruction (破坏) of our environment. Brown clouds, polluted water, endangered wild animals…. these problems seem so huge.

    So my family does what we can. We take cloth bags to stores instead of using plastic bags. We walk where we don't have to drive…

    But does it do any good? When I am the only one in line at the market with cloth bags, am I doing any good? Does my walking to stores make any real difference to the world?

    I recently learned something about flamingos(火烈鸟) which like to get together in groups of a thousand or more. Every year, when the time comes for migration(迁徙), a few of them first take off from the lake. But none of the others seem to notice. So the small group returns. However, the next day they try again. This time a few more fly along with them, but most of them still pay no attention, so they return again. They try for several times. Every time a few more birds join in but, since thousands of the others still take no notice, the great migration plan is once more stopped.

    Then one day something changes. The same small group of birds once again starts flying and a small number more join in just as before, then more. Finally, they all take flight and the migration really begins. What a spectacular sight it must be — thousands of flamingos taking off into the sky at once!

    A few can make a difference. Even if you're the one to take the first step, and continue trying, others will someday take notice and together we will solve even our greatest problems.

    Chris is not a traditional explorer(探险者)- he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer. Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has travelled to many places to organize programmes that help people.

    At the moment, there are over 27,000 trained medical staff(工作人员) taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can join in MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical(热带的)diseases are especially useful because most of MSF's work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months.

    But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good salary to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience is a great help in your career(生涯). At the end of each task, you help people in need and have made a real difference to people's lives.

    China is a country with many colorful days and festivals. The Dragon Head Raising Day (Longtaitou) is one of them. This special is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar (阴历). It stands the start of spring and farming.

    The dragon is important in Chinese culture. We Chinese people call the "descendants (传人) of the dragon". Therefore, people the Dragon Head Raising Day with many customs(传统) about dragons.

    On the day in ancient times(古代), people ashes (灰) in the kitchen. This was to "lead the dragon into the house". People believed that with the of the dragon, they could have a good harvest (收成) autumn.

    Also, people eat special on that day. The foods are usually named after dragons. For example, people eat "dragon whisker (细须)" noodles and dumplings called "dragon teeth".

    Today, many customs have disappeared. But one that has is the cutting of hair. It was said that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to the — mother's brothers. So many people have their hair cut on the Dragon Head Raising Day.

    Confidence(自信) is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude (态度). A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier. They can have more chance to make themselves successful(成功的). But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions(建议):

    Speak loud

    When you are not confident, you can't do well what you want to do. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak loud enough so that people can hear you clearly. The high voice can help you become more confident.

    Play sports 

    Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed. Astrong body helps you be full of confidence.

    Encourage(鼓励) yourself

    Write down a list(目录) of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done.

    Get rid of fear

    Fear(恐惧) comes along with failure(失败). But it's easy to overcome (克服) if you know that failure is part of your life. Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.

    Pick up a hobby

    If you like singing, sing as much as you can.  In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding(杰出的). And it will make you happy and confident.

作文要求：

1）不能照抄原文：不得在作文中出现学校真实的名称和学生的真实姓名。

2）词语连贯，词数 80 左右 开头已经给出，不计入总词数。

    Everyday we are influenced by hand phone, computer, television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers and the like.