浙江省台州市临海市2021年英语中考模拟训练题（二）

Last year I decided to do some volunteer work. I began to 1 on the Internet and discovered Volunteer USA. Three months later I 2 myself on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona. I was scared at the thought of living with lots of 3 people for three months. However, within fifteen minutes of arriving, my 4 had gone. Everyone was so friendly and like-minded that it was very 5 to feel at home.

 I was sent to the Coronado National Forest for my first 8-day project. We had to 6 everything we needed and walk three miles to where we worked. It may not seem like a  7 way but in 35℃ heat and with a heavy pack, my legs were on fire.

 My 8 was to build a stairway (台阶) out of rock. This meant climbing up and down the side of a mountain inhabited (栖息) by mountain lions, 9 I should say they were only heard, never seen.

Three days later, a beautiful stairway came into being. I got such a strong feeling of 10  when I knew that my work will be on that mountainside for many years.

But on the last night we were 11 in a rainstorm. I woke up at midnight to find a swimming pool in my tent. The temperature was close to 12. It was so cold that I had to spend the rest of the night trembling (颤抖) in the only 13 part of my tent.

Needless to say, I suffered a lot. But I know whatever I have to 14 in my life I was there and I survived. I think I am much 15 for having taken part in the project.

Hi,

This is the year 2070. I have just turned 50, but I look like a person of 85. I have serious kidney (肾脏) problems because I don't have enough water to drink. I'm afraid I don't have much time left to live. I am already one of the oldest people in this society.

I remember when I was five years old, everything was very different. There were lots of trees in the parks. I could enjoy a shower for half an hour. At that time, women had beautiful hair. Now, we have to shave (剃) our heads to keep them clean without the use of water.

I remember there were" Save Water" warnings in many public places, but nobody paid attention. We believed water would last forever. Now, all the rivers and lakes are either dry or polluted. Water is much more expensive than gold and diamonds.

Without water, almost all factories are closed. Most people lose their jobs. Those who have a job work in desalination (脱盐) factories and are paid with drinkable water rather than with money.

In the past, doctors suggested adults drink eight glasses of water a day. Nowadays, I am only allowed half a glass. Most people are weak. Young people in their early 20s look as if they were in their 40s.

Because there are few trees, we don't have enough oxygen. We have to pay for air. The air isn't very fresh, but at least we can breathe. Poor people die young. The average (平均的) life expectancy is 40 years.

When my son asks me about my childhood, I tell him about how pleasant it was to fish in the rivers and how healthy people were. When he asks," Why is there no clean water now?", I feel guilty. I belong to the generation who turned a blind eye to all the warnings.

I wish this letter could go back in time and that it would make people living in the 2020s truly understand the importance of saving water.

Best,

Natalie

Have you ever tried durian? It is said to be delicious, but you probably have never seen a durian-scented (榴莲味的) candle. That's because the fruit smells. And for this reason, some people dislike durian.

But Vincent Gomes of the University of Sydney has a strong interest in durian. In his eyes, durian is more than a fruit. He and his workmates have discovered something amazing about it. They found that durian was a natural super-capacitor (超级电容器).

Super-capacitors, just like batteries (电池), are used to store energy. But compared to the batteries we use today, they have a few advantages. They can store a much larger amount of energy. They can be recharged (再充电) much more quickly. And most importantly, they have a much longer lifespan. The lithium-ion (锂离子) batteries in our smartphones depend on chemicals to produce electricity. When the chemicals are used up, the batteries become harmful waste. This has caused serious pollution problems. Scientists have been trying to invent better batteries for years.

Although super-capacitors have many advantages, they haven't been widely used yet. The traditional materials used to make them are expensive. Durian, in comparison, is much cheaper. It has given scientists hope.

Gomes and his workmates have worked out a way to turn cores (果核) from durian into super-capacitors. But there are still many tech problems left for them to solve. Perhaps by the end of this decade, durian batteries will have hit the market. Just hope they won't be very smelly—we will need to use them in many places, from our cars to our phones!

"You're going to do WHAT?"I asked my best friend, Julie, in surprise.

" I'm going to try out for the cheer-leading squad (啦啦队)," she said, eyes fixed on the ground. We had been best friends since second grade and we did everything together, but now she was going off on her own. I was sure that if she joined the cheer-leading squad, she would become best friends with someone else and I couldn't stand the thought.

"Why are you doing this? Do you really want to hang around with those girls instead of me?" I cried angrily.

"It's not about the girls," Julie said." It's about the sport. I want to be on the squad at the high school level because they win scholarships (奖学金) at state competitions, and I have a better chance if I'm on the squad here," she explained." Besides," she added," it's not like I'm leaving the country or something."

"Goodbye," I ran away, leaving Julie standing with a sad look on her face.

The rest of that week I was unhappy, and I avoided Julie in the hall. I planned to watch the first game and take no notice of Julie. Instead, I was amazed by the enthusiasm (热情) and skill of Julie's cheering. Although she was the youngest member of the team, Julie enthusiastically led cheer after cheer. I saw how her face lit up with joy. I was stunned (目瞪口呆) as I realized that she loved the sport. Trying out for the team had nothing to do with me—maybe it was just something she wanted to do.

I walked to her, feeling ashamed (羞愧的), but Julie smiled immediately. " Hey, you were really great." I began, and then added quickly," I'm so sorry I've been rude to you about your joining the squad."

Julie smiled and replied," A group of us are going for ice cream. Why don't you come along?"

    ▲    , but I smiled in return. As I walked toward the cheerleaders, I realized there was room in Julie's life for all of us.

Cateura, Paraguay, isn't a common community. It's next to a landfill where, every day, more than 1.3  (百万) kilos of rubbish is left. Cateura doesn't have much to offer its residents (居民), and there's very little  (机会) for the children who live here.

Favio Chavez wanted to change that. Chavez, who moved there to work  (作为) an engineer, wanted to bring music to the community's children. He began giving  (功课) with donated instruments. So many children were interested that he quickly ran out. So, he decided to use the neighborhood's rubbish to  (创造) new ones. Violins were made from cans,  (木制的) spoons and forks. Cellos (大提琴) were made from large oil drums. Everything came from the landfill. And so, the Recycled Orchestra (管弦乐队) was born. The orchestra's first concert was held for the  (自豪的) parents of its members. But word  (传播) about these talented musicians.  (不久), they performed around Paraguay, and later, they  (旅行) to Brazil for a concert. Before long, their music was being played around the world.

It seems that China's food delivery (送货) workers are always racing against time. Recently, article in the Chinese magazine Portrait shows  difficult this job can be. The article Food Deliverymen: Stuck in the System shows the pressure that delivery workers face. One of the biggest challenges (be) their delivery time limit (限制). Delivering an order late, even by one second, results in a fine (罚款).

The time limit for each order (set) by an algorithm (算法). The algorithm will cut down the limit for everyone if a delivery worker (finish) an order within the time limit.  the algorithm doesn't consider real-life situations, such as red lights and speed limits.

In response to the article, food delivery company Eleme said it would add a new choice to (it) delivery app (应用程序). Customers can choose a button that says " I'm ready (wait) longer" . This way, delivery workers can have (much) time to deliver their orders.

"We hope  (thing) work out," says the company. However, this change hasn't pleased everyone. Many customers have pointed out that the apps should change the algorithms.

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Our school will hold different after-school activities.