浙江省宁波市2021年中考英语模拟卷（一）（音频暂未更新）

My school in the US recently reopened, although the COVID19 is still a problem there. Not wanting to put off my studies, I decided to stay in China and take online classes that are provided by my school in Boston.

Before every class, we wave and smile behind our masks. It makes us feel better. Our teachers are also trying to make classes more interesting so that we won't get bored. But there is a 12­ hour time difference between Beijing and the US. My classes take place from 8 pm to 4 am here. Because I'm the only student in my class who is studying online, my teachers like to put me on a big screen. Everyone can see me clearly.

After my classes are over, I go to sleep right away. Sometimes, I try to enjoy the sunrise for a while. So far, so good!

请看下面的情景提示：

上星期天Stephen打球时受伤了，他卧床休息了三天。

要点：

1）越来越多的人在晚饭后跳广场舞(square­dancing)。不但老年人喜欢，年轻人也开始接受跳广场舞；

2）通常他们会找到一个空旷的场地，比如公园、购物广场或社区的空地；

3）有些人认为跳广场舞产生了噪音，也有可能会扰民。但是大多数人认为这是一种锻炼和放松的方式。你的观点是什么呢？

Briana is 13 years old this year. And she is a middle school student in Salem, a city in Massachusetts, US. She often walked1on the streets after school. "I know it wasn't good, but I really had 2 else to do, " Briana said. She was not the 3 one. Many kids in her city had too 4 free time and nothing to do. To solve this problem, four schools in Salem began a 5 called Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The program helps students 6 good use of their afterschool time. Big Brothers/Big Sisters invite teachers to 7 students in grades 6 to 8 build healthy relationships and take part in helpful activities. The "Bigs" and "Littles" 8 meet once a week. They play games, share stories and 9 trips.

The program helped quite 10Salem students. Briana's teacher is the school principal, Syeda Woods. Woods took Briana to go iceskating, to hamburger parties and for a 11 to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. "When I got out, I saw that Salem is a very 12 place. Other cities are bigger than it," Briana said.

Kathy Jennings, 13, said she was very 13 before, but now is much more open. "In the program, I 14 like my teacher is a big sister, not a teacher. I can tell her anything," Jane said. "And she taught me a lot about thinking for 15. I think it will make a big difference in my life. "

Recommendations on Ningbo Sports Venues

The Easiest Ways to Peel Hard­Boiled Eggs

Today, we'll show you how to peel a hard­boiled egg quickly and easily. First let's see how to cook perfect hard­boiled eggs.

To make eggs easier to peel, you should not boil your eggs at all—not even with a bit of vinegar or baking soda(发酵粉). Instead, place eggs in a steamer basket(蒸笼)inside a pot. Fill the pot with water. Heat your water, and once it begins to boil, set a timer for 14 minutes. Then, take the eggs from the basket and put them into cold water. This should create perfect hard­boiled eggs.

Remember: Older eggs peel more easily. If your eggs are reaching their use­by date, they're just perfect for hard­boiling.

Method 1: Get cracking

Roll a hard­boiled egg on a hard surface. Once it is completely cracked(碎裂的), start peeling from the larger end of the egg—this will help separate the thin skin from the egg's surface. To make things even easier, peel under cold running water.

Method 2: Shake it up

This method is super­fun！To remove the shell, place a hard­boiled egg in a jar with about one inch of water inside. Make sure the jar is tightly sealed(密封)and start shaking.

As you shake, the egg will crack and the water will help loosen the shell. After a few seconds, the eggshell should be falling off.

Method 3: Use a spoon

To start, give the egg a good crack on a hard surface. Then, carefully put a spoon between the shell and the egg and rotate(转动)until the shell is completely separated. The shell should peel off easily.

Now, you can enjoy your hard­boiled eggs.

There was once a boy who was afraid of the dark. He thought that his bedroom was filled up with monsters when it was dark. But there came a time when he was too old to be allowed to keep sleeping with the light on.

That first night he was filled with fear, his mind full of monsters. Therefore, he went over to his wardrobe to get a torch. But when he opened the wardrobe door, he saw a monster, face to face, and he let out the loudest scream(尖叫)in the world. __①__

The monster took a step backwards, grabbed his colorful hair, stared at the boy with his single red eye, and . . . started crying！The monster cried for so long that the boy's shock and fear disappeared. __②__ He calmed the monster as much as he could, and started talking to him, asking him why he was crying, and what he was doing there.

The monster told him he lived in the wardrobe, but almost never went out, because he was afraid of the boy. __③__ When the boy asked him why, the monster told him the boy's face seemed to him the most horrible thing he'd ever seen with eyes, ears and a nose. The boy felt the similar way about the monster with a huge head full of mouths and hair.

The two of them talked so much that they became quite friendly, and they came to know that both of them had been afraid of the thing: the unknown. __④__ Together they traveled around the world, seeing lions, tigers, crocodiles and dragons. It was the first time either of them had seen such creatures, but they made the effort to get to know them. In the end, they drove away their fear and became friends.

And, although his parents weren't too happy, because they thought he was too old to still believe in monsters, the truth of it was that all kinds of creatures visited the boy's bedroom each night. And, instead of fearing them, he learned to get to know them and be friends with them.

"Do you want to have a talk with aliens？What do they look like？Where do they live？…" People are always wondering whether there is intelligent life on other planets. For many years, scientists said "no" or "we don't know". But today this is changing. Seth Shostak and Alexandra Barnett are astronomers(天文学家). They both believe intelligent life exists(存在)somewhere in the universe. They think we will soon contact these beings as well.

Why do Shostak and Barnett think intelligent life exists on other planets？The first reason is time. According to the careful research, scientists believe the universe is about 12 billion years old. "This is long enough for other planets to have intelligent life," say the two astronomers—Shostak and Barnett. The second important reason is size—the universe is huge. "Tools like the Hubble Telescope(哈勃望远镜)have shown us that there are at least 100 billion galaxies, " says Shostak. "And our galaxy, the Milky Way, has at least 100 billion stars. Some planets going around these stars might be similar to Earth. "

In the past, it was hard to look for signs of intelligent life in the universe. But as time goes by, powerful telescopes allow scientists to discover some smaller planets—the size of Mars or Earth in other solar systems. These planets might have intelligent life.

Have beings from space already visited our Earth？"Probably not, " says Shostak. "It's a long way away. However, intelligent beings may contact us in other ways, such as radio signals(信号). In fact, they may be trying to communicate with us now, but we don't have the right tools to receive their messages. However, this is changing. By 2025, we could make contact with other life forms in our universe and we might help each other. "

The street­stall economy(地摊经济)in China has been popular . Many young people often joke with their friends and say to each other: "How about up a street stall in the fair？"

The current fair is a blend of China's old streetstall culture and the boundless creativity of young people in big cities. Usually, the square is wide and . And the products on display in the market are local products, small but useful things, and even talent shows.

As the first night fair opened in Ningbo, Nanmen Night Fair has attracted many . Here, people can see the shadows of Chinese street stalls more than 10 years ago, recall their childhood, and experience old and new culture the same time.

Come and have fun here.

Once upon a time, there was a family with 8 children living in a village. Two of the children, both boys, loved painting very much, the family was so poor that it was impossible to send both of them to study at art school.

After many discussions, the two boys finally worked out a plan. They would toss(抛)a coin. The loser would go down into the mines and support his brother with his . Then, when the brother who won the toss finished his studies, in four years, he would pay the school fee for the other brother (study)at the college.

One of the brothers, Albrecht Durer, won the toss and his brother Jack went down the (danger)mines. Durer worked with all his heart and his paintings were much better than those of most of his (teacher). He was beginning to make a lot of money for his paintings.

Durer returned. When he told Jack he could go to art college, Jack said (quiet), "The four years in the mines (do)too much to my hands. It is too late. Now I can't even hold a glass. "

To show his love to his brother, Durer drew his brother's hands palms(手掌)together and thin fingers towards the sky. He called his drawing simply Hands, but the whole world almost quickly opened their hearts to the great work and renamed The Praying Hands.

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a (two)look. Let it be your reminder: No one can ever succeed alone!

提示：1）make a reservation(预约)anytime

2）needn't wait by the roadside

3）neat and tidy

4）. . .

注意：1）短文必须包括提示中的所有内容，并可适当增加细节；

2）文中不得出现真实的人名和校名；

3）你的观点至少2条；

4）词数：100左右，开头部分已给出，不计入总词数。

Nowadays, smartphones are widely used in our lives. Many people prefer to call a taxi through Apps like Caocao or Didi. I'd like to strongly recommend them to the foreigners in Ningbo.