（浙江）外研版初中英语八年级下册期中复习（题型专练）：阅读理解

    When I was a kid, I never had any problems watching some cartoons. It was so much fun and a great education as well. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Tom and Jerry were my idols（偶像）. Even now I really feel that they are worth watching at any age.

    The problem I've found is the cartoons at present. Some of them contain something ugly. Most of the time, they show such many terrible characters with violence（暴力）that you wonder what they really mean, Cartoons are supposed to be funny but they aren't. If you are expecting to teach your kids good manners and behavior, then they are the worst for your kids to watch.

    Kids often imitate what they see in cartoons. If your kid is a fan of such cartoons, he or she will follow his or her favourite cartoon character and try to do something extremely dangerous.

    Therefore, try not to let your kids watch too many today's cartoons. Make sure to keep an eye on what they are watching.

    Are you shy? If you are, you are not alone. In fact, close to 50 percent of people are shy. Almost 80 percent of people feel shy at some point in their lives. These days, shyness is becoming more and more common. Now, scientists are trying to understand shyness. They have some interesting ideas about why people are shy.

    Is it possible to be born shy? Many scientists say yes. They say 15 to 20 percent of babies behave shyly. These babies are a little quieter and more watchful than other babies. Interestingly, these shy babies usually have shy parents. As a result, scientists think that some shyness is genetic.

    Family size might cause people to be shy as well. Scientists at Harvard University studied shy children. They found that 66 percent of them had older brothers and sisters. The scientists said that these children were often bullied(欺负)by their older brothers and sisters. As a result, they became shy. At the same time, children with no brothers and sisters may be shy as well. Growing up alone, they often play by themselves. They are not able to learn the same social skills as children from big families.

    You may also be shy because of where you were born. When scientists studied shyness in different countries, they found surprising differences. In Japan, most people said they were shy. But in Israel, only one of three people said so. What explains the difference? One scientist says the Japanese and Israelis have different opinions of failure. In Japan, when people do not succeed, they feel bad about themselves. They blame(责备)themselves for their failure. In Israel, the opposite is true. Israelis often blame failure on outside reasons, such as family, teachers, friends or bad luck. In Israel, freedom of opinion and risk taking are strongly supported. This may be why Israelis worry less about failure and are less shy.

    For shy people, it can be difficult to make friends, speak in class, and even get a good job. But scientists say you can get over your shyness. They suggest trying new things and practicing conversations. And don't forget-if you are shy, you are not the only one.

    Your body, which has close relations with the food you eat, is the most important thing you own, so it needs proper treatment and proper nourishment (营养).The old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away "is not as silly as some people think. The body needs fruit and vegetables because they contain vitamin C. Many people take extra vitamins in pill form, believing that these will make them healthy.

    But a good diet is made up of nourishing food and this gives all the vitamins you need. The body doesn"t need or use extra vitamins, so why waste money on them?

    In the modern western world, many people are too busy to bother about eating properly. They throw anything into their stomachs, eating hurriedly and carelessly. The list of illnesses caused or made worse by bad eating habits is frightening.

    Here is a story told an American general（将军）who was a very important figure in the American army during the First World War. Everybody in the United States knew him and many people wished to have a picture or something of his in their homes.

    Soon after the war, the general returned to Washington. One day he went to a dentist（牙医）and had six teeth pulled out. A week later the general heard that his teeth were being sold in curiosity shops at $5 each. On catch of the teeth there was a label（标签）with the name of the general and words, "Buy these teeth and show them to your friends at home. "The general got angry. He rushed to his office and ordered six officers to go around the city and buy all his teeth.

    The officers went out and visited every curiosity shop in the capital. They were away from the office all day. In the evening they returned and put on the table in front of the general the teeth they had bought. They had collected 175 teeth.

    In the universe, as we all know, there is the sun, the moon, the earth and a good many stars. Through our geography lessons, we know the earth goes around the sun, and the moon goes around the earth. We have day and night because the earth keeps turning all the time. When our part of the earth turns to the sun, it is day. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, it is night.

Just because the moon is closer to the earth than the sun, it looks much bigger than the sun. Big things will look smaller when they are further, and small things also look bigger when they are nearer.

    The sun is big enough to give out very strong light. The moon can't give any light at all, but it looks quite bright, too. Why? In fact, the light from the moon comes from the sun. The moon looks much bigger and brighter than the stars. But actually (事实上) the stars are much bigger and brighter than the moon. They look smaller than the moon also because they are further away from the earth.

    There are many other planets in the universe. But of all the planets, only on the earth there are living things and people can only live on the earth, too. But at 9:00 a.m. on October 15th，2003, Chinese pilot Yang Liwei was sent up to space. He stayed there for 21 hours. It was the first time for Chinese to get into space.

    I'm David．When I was 13．my parents decided that I should go to England to improve my English．I had never been to other countries before．so I felt a little worried．My parents prepared everything for my journey．My plane was due(预期的)to leave at 9：30 am and arrive in two hours．I phoned the English family who I would stay with and they told met hey would wait for me at the airport．

    Unluckily my plane to London was delayed(延误)．I tried to phone the English family again but I couldn't speak to them because they had already left home for the airport．

    When I arrived in London．it was already 1：30 pm．I went to get my luggage(行李)but I couldn't find it．I became very worried．Luckily,the airport staff(工作人员)was very helpful and efficient ． I didn't wait long—they found it 10 minutes later．

    My English family were still waiting for me!I was so happy!Then my new life in London began．My English family were quite kind．I learned a lot of English because I spent most of the day talking in English．I played computer games with the little boy in my English family．I also taught him how to play chess．Sometimes I told him stories I learned from my family．

    I missed my family during my stay in London,but I also felt sad when my stay there came to an end．My English family held a party for me．I enjoyed it very much．I'll never forget that summer in London!It is one of the most wonderful experiences I've ever had．

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    It was a cold snowy morning after the winter vacation. And it was my first day at my new school. I was walking alone slowly and worrying about lots of things. It was early and there weren't many people on the road. Suddenly a girl who was riding a bike on ice fell down. She was trying hard to get up but fell again. Without thinking, 1 went over and helped her. She said" thank you" with a smile and then rode away. Her words warmed me a lot.

    Finally, I got to school. The teacher led me to the classroom and introduced me to the class. Then he asked me to sit down beside a girl. I felt so nervous that I didn't dare to look at her. Soon the first class, English, started. Their textbooks were different from those in my old school. As I was wondering what to do, an English book appeared in front of me. "Let's share," the girl beside me said. "Hi, I'm Carrie." I looked up. It was the girl I helped this morning. Later on, we became good friends.

    From that I learned: To help others is actually to help ourselves!

    When you are feeling unhappy or forget how great you are, there are six ways to make you feel good about yourself.

    ●Look in the mirror and say to yourself, "I am a special person and there's no one in the world like me. I can do anything. "It may not sound so good, but it really works!

    ●Do something nice for someone. Helping others always makes you feel good.

    ●Smile! Be friendly to people you meet. Look for the good things in your friends and family.

    ●Learn something new! Have you always wanted to design your own room or learn how to swim? Go for it! New challenges are fun and give you a sense of accomplishment when you have finished them.

    ●Start to write a diary. Turn off the TV and let your imagination fly! Write down your thoughts, dreams or anything you want! Writing always helps to express your feelings.

    ●Stay with your family. We all need our family time. Talk with your mum or dad or maybe even your cousin.

    Clouds are made of millions of very small drops of water. The drops move around all the time. When they hit each other, they join up. This is how they grow larger and heavier. When they are too heavy to stay in the air, they fall down as rain.

    If it is very cold, the very small drops of water change into ice. The pieces of ice freeze together. When they get too heavy, they fall down as snow.

    There are many different kinds of clouds. And they are different in shape. The thunderclouds are big and dark. Some clouds are like small white balls of cotton.

　　Many people like to travel during their vacations. Some people travel in tour groups because they think it is safe and cheap. A tour guide takes care of the group and makes sure the group can see a lot of interesting and beautiful sights. Other people like traveling alone or with friends. If you travel by yourself, you are free to see what you want to see.  

People travel for many reasons. Some people travel to learn more about other countries'people, culture, food and languages. Some people travel for adventure(冒险). They want to do some different things, such as skiing, bungee jumping(蹦极跳)and mountain climbing. Other people like to shop when they travel. They look for new things or cheap ones.

There are different ways to travel. Some people take trains, boats or buses, some fly, and others drive cars. Some people like to travel slowly and spend a long time in each place, while others like to take quick tours and visit more places in a short time.

How do you like to spend your vacation?