浙江省新目标（Go for it）版初中英语八年级上学期期中模拟试卷（9）

    What comes to your mind when you hear the word "twins"? Born on the same day? Looking almost the same? Or having the same hobbies? Well, I have a twin brother who was born on a different day from me. We do not look very much alike and we are always interested in different things.

Twelve years ago, my brother, Wayne, was born at eleven fifty-eight on the night of May 28. Five minutes later, I was born一on May 29. Since we were born, I have always been heavier and stronger than Wayne, so people usually think I am the older brother.

    But Wayne is always smarter than L He loves reading and learns many things quickly. He knows a lot about animals, although he does not spend much time with our dogs and birds. He knows e lot about bicycles, but never likes to ride bikes as much as I do.

    Though we are very different, I love my brother very much. I hope both of us can have a happy life in the future.

    It is Oct. 24. You pick up a bottle of milk. You see "Best Before Oct.23" on it. What do you do with it? Most people just throw it away. It's a big waste.

    The United Nations says that over one third of food goes to the trash. But 795 million people on Earth don't have enough to eat. To change this, people have come up with great ideas. After all, the best place for food is our stomachs, not the trash.

    Sharing food

    People say, "There's no such thing as a free, lunch." But they are wrong. Recently, "share fridges" have come to cities like Shanghai and Quanzhou, Quick meals, milk, cookies and cakes are staying in the fridges. It is just like your fridge at home. The food comes from families and shops nearby. And it is free for every passerby to enjoy! This great idea comes from the popular "food bank" practice.

We keep our extra money in a bank. In 1967， some people in the US wanted to do the same with food. They then set up the world's free food bank.

    In many people's eyes, expired( 过期的) food becomes junk. But a company from the UK thinks differently. There is a "Best Before Date "on the food bag. Before that date, the quality(质量) is the best. But after that date, the food can be still OK to eat.

    So, the Real Junk Food Project, a British company, gets such food from supermarkets and puts it in cafes again. They don't give the food a price. You can give whatever money you like. If you don't want to spend money, you can help work there.

    Karl was standing before the queen (女王). "You saved my horse," the queen said. "Now I want to give you a gift." The queen showed him two " boxes. In one box, there were lots of beautiful jewels (宝石), and in the other, there were two chickens.

    "Only one box can be yours," the queen said. "Make a wise choice (明智的选择)."

    "That's easy," Karl said. "I'll take the chickens." Some of the people around them laughed. They thought he made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chickens?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Karl answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chickens will give eggs to my family for a long time."

    The queen smiled. "The jewels you see are only colored glass (玻璃). The chickens are much more valuable ( 宝贵的)," she said. "You made a wise choice." Karl thanked the queen and got the box of chickens.

    "You are a smart man," the queen said. "I need a smart man to help take care of my horses. Would you like the job?" Karl smiled and said, "Yes. Thank you!"

    The job paid well. Now Karl's family could have a good life   all because of his choice.

阅读理解

    On New Year's Day, my family decided to climb Mount Song. We hoped it could bring good luck to us for the whole year. It was cloudy in the morning. My grandparents, my parents and I had some dumplings for breakfast and then drove to Mount Song. At nine, we arrived at the foot of Mount Song and began to climb the mountain. It was cold, but we were all excited at first. We chose a road that visitors seldom took because we thought it would be fun. After two hours we found that the road conditions (路况) were getting worse. At half past twelve, we got to the top of the mountain. But it began to snow! All of us were cold and hungry. Soon we got to a small restaurant. It only sold instant noodles (方便面). One bowl of noodles was ten yuan and we had to pay for the hot water! Each of us had a bowl of noodles and gained some strength. There were no cable cars, so we had to walk down the mountain. Four hours later, we finally got to the foot of the mountain. What an unusual day!

    I often spend my summer holidays just with my parents. It is quite boring. But last summer holiday was 1 . Some of my friends came to stay with my 2  and me for a week in our summer house. It is in a small 3  town called Portsea. They got there by train. It 4  them three hours.

    One morning my friends and I 5  to take my parents' boat for a ride. We rowed (划船)  6 half an hour and found a big cave (山洞).Susan said it could be 7  to go into it. But Peter said it was okay. 8  we started rowing again and got in the cave. Then the tide (潮夕) started. At first we thought we could fight it but we were 9 . We shouted for 10  but there was no one around. Susan and I began to cry. Louis told us not to 11  because the tide would be out. Because Louis always seemed to know the answer to 12 , we stopped crying.

    Luckily, Louis was right 13 . After some hours the tide went out. We rowed back home quickly. We didn't 14  my parents about this special trip. And we were so 15  that we did not have a boat ride again.

    Sonia is 14 years old. She couldn't stand Beijing Opera in the past. She thought it  meaningless. When she met Beijing Opera programs on TV, she always changed  to other programs. Like most middle school students, Sonia liked pop music. Ten months ago, Sonia's father (find) a job in Beijing, so she also went to Beijing. She started  (study) at No.15 Middle School, and she started to learn Beijing Opera in music  (class) every week, Sonia and her classmates listen to Beijing Opera and sing along  the actors. Little by little Sonia is  (interest) in Beijing Opera. Now she likes to see Beijing Opera on TV. And she  (join) her school Beijing Opera club. Sonia said, "I can learn a  about Chinese history from Beijing Opera. It's  (use) for all people to learn about Beijing Opera, I everyone studies it, the old art won't disappear.

—No, I can't sit. I's so boring.