浙江省外研版2021年中考英语模拟卷（4）（含听力题）

    Henry is going through a very hard time. His wife has just passed away. He feels that life1her is meaningless. For months, Henry sis in his house doing2. His family try to encourage him to do new things and enjoy life, but they're not 3.

    Henry's neighbor, an old woman named Lisa, sees him from her yard one day. She has not seen him outside in days! She asks him to 4 closer to the fence(篱笆) next to her house.

    "Hello, Henry! Just look at this fence. It is falling apart. You area5man. Can you help me fix this fence?" Lisa asks.

    Henry is angry inside. He is the one who needs6right now. He thinks the old lady is being kind of impolite. But she is too old to fix the fence7, so he agrees.

    Henry works on the fence for days. Lisa brings him orange juice 8he works. When he finishes, she thanks him. Henry9for the first time in months.

    “What a wonderful job! Could you please paint it10me?" Lisa says to him. Henry cannot believe she needs more help. Doesn't she know how sad he is? But11he respects(尊敬) her, he agrees. He works hard painting the fence in the hot12, but Lisa's orange juice and encouragement are helpful. As their neighbors13by, they all tell Henry what a beautiful job he has done. Henry feels very happy.

    Henry no longer feels that14is meaningless. He finally realizes that Lisa wasn't being impolite. She knows that staying15can help us forget our sadness. He helped her, but she truly saved him.

    Do you have brown hair? Are you taller than other kids your age? These characteristics were decided before you were born. You got your traits from your parents. They passed their traits on to you through genes (基因).

    Genes carry codes (代码) for blue eyes or brown eyes. Genes say how tall you will get and what color hair you will have. You got half of your genes from your mother. You got half of your genes from your father. So you have your own set of genes. Each person gets different genes for each body part. That is why you look like but not exactly like your brother or sister.

    A dominant (显性的)  gene shows up most of the time. Brown eyes are dominant over blue eyes. A recessive (降性的) gene shows up less often. Light hair comes from a recessive gene. Dark hair is more common. Look at the eye color and hair color of the people around you. You will see that this is true.

    Genes help to make you who you are. But they don't tell the whole story. Your genes may help you to be fast and strong. But you still need to learn how to run or swim or skate well .

    Getting electricity has always been a problem for the 173 people living in Nuevo Saposoa, a small village in Peru, South America. However, things went from bad to worse in March 2015 after heavy rains damaged the only power cables in the area. The villagers were forced to use oil lamps, which are not only expensive but also dangerous because of the harmful gases they produce.

    Luckily, researchers at the University of Technology (UT) in Lima, Peru heard about their problem and found a wonderful solution. They made a lamp that can be powered by plants and soil, both of which can be easily found in the Amazonian rainforest where the village lies. The lamp takes energy from a plant growing in a wooden box and uses it to light up an LED light bulb.

    While that may sound amazing and even impossible, the science behind the ides is quite simple. As plants create their food (using the sun's energy, water and chemicals from the soil), they also produce waste which they return to the soil. Tiny animals in the soil eat this waste and they produce electrons – the building blocks of electrical energy. The UT team put special sticks inside the soil to capture the energy and keep it in the lamp's batteries for later use. The researchers say a single charge can power a 50-watt Led light for two hours - enough time for local villagers to get their evening work done.

    The university gave ten Plant Lamps to the villagers of Nuevo Saposoa in October 2015. So far, they have been a huge success! Elmer Ramirez, the UT professor who invented the lamp, believes the Plant Lamp could help improve the lives of many people, especially small rainforest communities, 42% of whom have no electricity.

    What makes humans smarter than other animals? We've got a bigger brain, of course. But when it comes to brains, is bigger always better?

    Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans' better intelligence (智慧) came mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. People even used to believe that men are smarter than women because men have a little larger brains.

    This, however, is not the truth. Scientists at University College London in the UK have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the advantage of human intelligence, reported Live Science.

    Through millions of years of gradual development, our ancestors (祖先) were pushed to get smarter all the time so that they could meet the needs of new environments. However, holding this growing intelligence in increasingly large brains was not the best choice because bigger brains require more energy to power. "This is when reorganization may come into play," said Christophe Soligo, a member of the London research team.

    In the study, scientists looked at the brains of 17 kinds of primates (灵长目动物) , including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of gradual development, brains didn't keep growing as a whole. Certain parts of the brain grew more than others as needed, and in this way they could make the best use of their limited brain space.

    For example, when early humans were trying hard to live, the brain region (区域)  which is in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex (前额皮质) — the region in charge of social cognition (认知), moral judgments and goal-directed planning — grew more than the rest of the brain.

    Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesn't necessarily store more things than a smaller one.

Paul Manger, a professor, explains this using the example of whales. He told Scientific American: "Whales have big brains. But if you look at the actual structure (结构) of the brain, it's very simple. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. "

    On winter nights, the wind usually blows strongly. Most of us stay inside our warm homes. Few of us think about the homeless. They have no choices but to sleep on the streets. Some of them are so poor that they have no money to buy food.

    A young man in Birmingham, England, decided to do something about this. Every night, he puts on a Spider-Man suit and gives food to the homeless he meets. He makes sure that these people won't go hungry.

    The man refuses to make his name public. The local people call him the "Birmingham Spider-Man." The young man hopes his action will show others that everybody should give a helping hand.

    The 24-year-old started his night rounds in 2015. Every night at 9, he buys some sandwiches. Then, he finds a quiet alley (小巷) and puts on his "uniform". After that, the "Spider-Man" starts handing his food out to people in need.

    The man said he wore the Spider-Man suit in order to draw attention. Without the suit, few people took a second look at him when he was handing out food. When people see the "Spider-Man," however, they come over and ask what he is doing.

    "The Birmingham Spider-Man" has already attracted lots of attention. Many people have offered to give away money to him. But the young man never accepts donations. Instead, he encourages people to go out and help people in need on their own. He said, "If more people offer a helping hand, the cold winter nights won't be so cold any longer."

    When holding a party, people usually want to invite some friends and relatives.

    Writing a party invitation is an art. There are important things that should be kept in mind when you prepare an invitation. In fact, it's easier to write an invitation than you think. It just takes some practice.

     It's confusing(使人困惑的))to receive an invitation without knowing the host. If you plan to send an e-mail invitation,guests might not even read the e-mail without the name of the host in the subject line(主题栏).

Secondly, your invitation should include the reason for holding the party. After receiving the invitation, guests can prepare proper clothes or the presents that they will bring with them.

    It's even better to tell your guests the duration(持续时间) of the party.

    The next thing you should write on your invitation is the exact place where the party will be held. Maybe some of your guests don't know the location.  We know everyone can search online for it, but it's very nice to provide the information for the people who don't know much about the place.

     In this way, your guests can have enough time to prepare for your party.

    Many people go to Utah because they love hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park. They enjoy (岩石) climbing, camping and so on. However, some people go to Utah for a very (不同的)experience.

    The Boulder Outdoor Survival(生存) School(BOSS) in Utah is the world's oldest survival school. It teaches people how stay alive without tents, or even backpacks. In Bryce Canyon, the days are very(热的) and the nights are very cold. Not everyone wants to go and experience life without modern (发明) like smart phones and e-books. Students at BOSS quickly learn that it is important to work hard and (尝试 ) new things if they want to complete the training.

    In survival camps at Boss students don' just practise camping, hiking or (骑) horses. They go into the wild for days or weeks. They learn how to find (新鲜的)w ate for drinking. They also learn how to make a fire, use a (小刀) and find food to eat. Nature can often give them ( 每件事 )they need so survive.

    After these people go back to the real world, they may never use these skills again. Even if they don at (至少 ) they will always know that they can live without computers, electricity, and smart phones— even if it is only for a few days!

    In difficult times, there are always individuals who step up and bring people hope and confidence. Zhong Nanshan is one of these heroes who (make) great contributions during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia(NCP) (新冠肺炎).

    Growing up in a family of doctors, Zhong lives by a simple motto (信条) : save lives and always be honest. In 2003, when SARS hit China, he volunteered  (treat) patients and asked his colleagues (同事) to send their most serious cases to him. After months of work, his treatment plan for SARS  (accept) by China and then the whole world, saving thousands of lives.

    Seventeen years later, Zhong is once again  (lead) an expert team to study the novel coronavirus. "Please don't travel to Wuhan unless it's absolutely necessary, "Zhong Nanshan reminded the public when the novel coronavirus first  (hit) Wuhan. But he, 84, rushed on an overnight train to Wuhan on Jan 18 while the patients there  (wait) for a proper treatment. Two days later, he became the first expert to make certain that the new virus  (be) spread between humans. Under his guidance, his team developed a rapid test kit (快速检测试剂盒) for the disease that can show results within 15 minutes. Although this new virus is known to be more dangerous to the elderly, Zhong  (not seem) worried about his own safety.

    Zhong's image and messages  (go) through social media right now. Many people say they "trust every word of Zhong". He has given Chinese people confidence in winning the battle. He is a real hero and we surely  (remember) his great contribution forever!

提示：

1）养成良好的生活习惯，如：健康饮食，适度运动等。

2）要乐观（optimistic），有积极的心态。

3）劳逸结合。

4）补充自己的观点。

要求：

1）书写规范,行文流畅，表达连贯,可根据内容适当发挥。

2）文中不得出现真实的地区、学校及姓名。

3）不少于100词。