牛津版（深圳•广州）初中英语九年级上学期期末模拟试卷（2）

—Just with the software called Meipai. Let me show you         .

—Yes. It rains very often at this time of year.

    Light travels at a very fast speed. It is about a million times1than the speed of sound. You can get some idea of this2by watching the start of a race. If you stand some distance away from the starter, you can see smoke from his gun before the sound gets to your 3.

    This great speed of light4some strange facts. Sunlight5about 8 minutes to get to us. If you look at the light of the moon tonight, 6 that the light rays(光线)leave the moon 1.3 seconds before they get to you. The nearest star is so7away that the light which you can see from it tonight started to8towards you several years ago. In some cases, the light from one of tonight's stars had started on its journey to you before you were born.

    So, to be exact, we can't say, "The stars are shining 9."We have to say instead, "The stars10pretty. They were shining several years ago, but their light has only just got to the Earth."

Birthday is a special day for most people. We may spend much time celebrating it. On birthday, we may go for a trip, have a party or watch a movie with our parents and friends. We can also enjoy some special food. Do you know what people eat on their birthday around the world? Here are three people from different countries. They tell us what food they eat on their birthday.

Liu Jing is from Beijing. "The long noodles are a symbol of long life. In China, red is a symbol of luck. We think red eggs bring us good luck. So you can see Chinese eat long noodles and red eggs when they celebrate their birthday," says Liu Jing.

"I am so happy because today is my birthday. I want to have a birthday party. At the party, we can play games, sing and dance. We can also eat a big birthday cake with fifteen candles. I'm sure we can have a good time at my birthday party," says David from America.

"In Canada, people put a coin (硬币) into the cake. If the birthday person eats the cake with the coin, he or she will be lucky. I am so happy because I eat the cake with a coin," says Sandy.

    As we know, there are differences between Western culture and Chinese culture, We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used. Let's look at some words about animals and plants.

    Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, "a homeless dog", "a mad dog", "a running dog" and "a dog catching a mouse", have negative (消极的) meanings. But in western countries, dogs are considered to be honest and good friends of humans. In English, people use the dog to describe positive (积极的) actions. For example, "You are a lucky dog" means "You are a luck person". And "Every dog has its day" means "Each person has good luck sometimes". To describe a person's serious illness, they say "sick as a dog". The word "dog-tired" means "very tired". However, Chinese love cats very much. But in Western culture, "cat" is often used to describe a woman who is cruel. There are many other examples of how "cat" is used differently as well. The rose is regarded as a symbol of love in both China and some Western countries. People think the rose stands for love, peace, courage and friendship. And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries.

    The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures. We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used.

    I live on the twelfth floor of a building. One afternoon I was coming home from a friend's house. It was just after four o'clock. I got quickly into the lift and pressed Button(按钮)13.

    The lift started to go up, but very slowly. And then, halfway up, it suddenly stopped between two floors. I couldn't understand it. I pressed all the buttons from 1 to 14.I called for help very loudly. But nobody answered.

    Then suddenly the lights went out, and I was alone in the dark. I started to cry and beat the walls of the lift. I cried and cried until I had no voice left. Then, I felt hopeless, and pressed all the buttons with my hands. And at the same time, there was a bell far away. It rang and rang. It was the fire alarm. I thought the whole building was on fire. I said to God quietly, "Just get me out of here. I'll never be bad again."

    Just then, I realized the lift was moving very slowly. On the ground floor it stopped, and the door opened. A man was standing there. "How long have you been there? It is good that you pressed the alarm bell. But haven't you learned to read at your school?" He pointed at a small piece of paper on the wall beside the lift. It said:

    "Attention: This lift will be stopped for repairs between 4 p.m. and 5p.m. on Thursday, March 13."

    Mark Twain tells a boy's story in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck is a poor child without a mother and a home. His father drinks too much alcohol and always beats him.

    Huck's situation frees him from the restriction of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He also smokes. Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped(逃脱)slavery(奴隶制).They travel together on a raft(木筏)made of wood down the Mississippi River. Mark Twain started writing" Huckleberry Finn" as a children's story. But it soon became serious. The story tells about the social evil of slavery, which is seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Huck's ideas about people are formed by the white society in which he lives. So, at first, he does not question slavery. Huck knows that important people believe slavery is natural and this is the law of God. So he thinks it is his duty to tell Jim's owner where to find him.

    Later, Huck comes to understand that Jim is a good man. He finds he cannot carry out his plan to inform Jim's owner of his whereabouts(下落). Instead, he decides to help Jim escape. He decides to do this, even if God punishes him.

    If you go to a fast food restaurant, you will probably see a lot of teenagers. Today many teenagers are overweight, and some of this is because of their bad eating habits. Most teenagers love food with a lot of fat(脂肪), oil, salt, and sugar. People often call this kind of food "junk food".

    But bad eating habits are even worse than fast food. We find many teenagers eat unhealthily. Some don't have breakfast before they go to school. During the day, some don't have a healthy meal for lunch. In a survey at one school, scientists found that over two-thirds of the students didn't follow a healthy diet. They didn't like vegetables, and many of them didn't like to eat fruit. They preferred to eat food with a lot of salt, sugar or fat.

    Parents today also worry about their children's diet. Some doctors give the following advice：

    ·Teenagers shouldn't eat too much junk food.

    ·Teenagers shouldn't eat food with too much salt. Salt can cause high blood pressure(血压)in the future.

    Teenagers should eat food with less fat, oil and sugar.

    Teenagers need to eat some fruit and vegetables every day. Fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins and have little fat.

    Teenagers need to drink more milk. Milk will help their bones grow.

    Teenagers need to eat breakfast every day. This is good for their body and mind.

提示：

1）What is the best gift you have ever received?

2）Who sent it to you?

3）How does it look like?

4）Why do you think it is the best?

要求：

1）表达清楚，语句通顺，意思连贯，书写规范；

2）文中不得出现真实姓名和校名；

3）词数：80左右。

My best gift

    I have received many gifts from my family,