广东省深圳市2020-2021学年八年级下学期英语竞赛试题

— Well, I'm thinking about the salary.

Mom had lived in a nursing home for the past three and a half years, suffering the increasing effects of dementia(老年痴呆). They were tough years, actually1for us family members than for her, I believe. She suffered very little pain in those final years, less than she reported when living in her own home.

All dementia is not alike. Mom's form2 her short-term memory more than her long-term memory. By the time she went to the nursing home, her short-term memory had3been non-existent. We learned to4our conversations with her to old things of the past. Usually, she could connect with these experiences and seemed to enjoy us talking about them. I noticed in her last year that her long-term memory was5, too. And it became even more6to engage her in conversation. In her last six months, we had very little expectation of her responding, though a few times she surprised us. Therefore, when we called her, we would just7to tell her about our lives, things we were doing, things our children and grandchildren were doing. The calls would be short. We would tell her we loved her; she would either be8or make some granting(咕哝) sounds.

Though I expect Mom's death, it was still bad news to hear. She is9. Even one-way conversations were more10than no conversations. No more calls now but we will remember her forever.

Boys at the top of the pecking order(长幼次序) either by birth or because their older siblings(兄弟姐妹)died score higher on IQ tests than their younger brothers.

Norwegian researchers now report that it's a matter of what they call social rank in the family that gives the first born the highest scores or if the firstborn had died young, the next oldest.

Kristensen and Bjerkedal studied the IQ test results of 241,310 Norwegian men drafted into the armed forces between 1967 and 1976. All were aged 18 or 19 at the time.

The average IQ of first-born men was 103.2, they found. Second-born men averaged 101.2 but second-born men whose older brother died young scored 102.9. And for third-borns, the average was 100.But if both older brothers died young, the third-born score rose to 102.6.

The findings provide "evidence that the relation between birth order and IQ score is dependent on the social rank in the family and not birth order as such," they concluded.

It's an issue that has been hotly discussed since at least 1874, when Sir Francis Galton reported that men in important positions were more likely to be firstborns than would have been statistically expected.

Since then, several studies have reported higher intelligence scores for firstborns, while other analyses have questioned those findings and the methods of those reports.

These two researchers prove that how study participants were raised, not how they were born, is what actually influences their IQs," said Sulloway, an American professor, who was not part of the research team.

"The elder child pulls ahead," he said, "perhaps as a result of learning gained through the process of teaching younger brothers and sisters."

"The older child benefits by having to organize and express its thoughts to tutor youngsters, "he said, "while the later born children may have no one to tutor."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is making a plan that would require automakers to install wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology (V2V) in cars and trucks.

It is believed that the technology can prevent accidents by giving vehicles the ability to talk to each other, providing information on where they are located and how fast they are traveling, at the speed of 10 times one second. Similar safety features, such as blind spot monitoring and other collision prevention technologies, are already offered in many consumer vehicles.

NHTSA believes VV can cut accidents that don't involve drunk drivers or mechanical issues by about 80%.According to NHTSA, there are roughly 30,000 highway fatalities each year, down22% over the last decade. Nearly half of the crashes examined by the Highway Loss Data Institute involve rear-end collisions a type of accidents that information-swapping between cars could eventually prevent.

The V2V safety applications currently under development do not control a vehicle's braking or steering, like some features offered by car manufacturers.

"By helping drivers avoid crashes, this technology will play a Key role in improving the way people get where they need to go. At the same time, it ensures that the U.S. remains the leader in the global automotive industry," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

The agency is making its final analysis of data gathered during a year-long test in Ann Arbor. Mich. A report with cost estimates and additional safety information will be published in the coming weeks, at which time a public comment period will begin.

V2V communication would add $100 to $200 to the cost of a new car, according to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. However、 David J. Friedman, acting director of the NHTSA, said, "It's not a problem. Nothing is more important than safety." He said the search is still on for a method that WiFi can use without interfering with car-to-car communication.

An important scientific report announcing "irrefutable(不能反驳的) proof" that climate change is happening and it's all our fault. How long has it been before people are against the global warming idea? Here's a funny thing. Last year there was a very bad hurricane season in the Caribbean when, among other disasters, New Orleans was all but wiped off the map. We were wisely informed by the experts at the time that this was owing to global warming.

I remember watching a BBC science programmer and hearing a learned professor with a beard tell us. "The increased frequency and strength of hurricanes is what we shall have to learn to expect given global warming".

This year there have been far fewer hurricanes and those there have been were relatively mild. The explanation? Why, good old global warming again of course. Professor Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist writes. "In the constant media reports of possible greenhouse related disasters, almost any event is now linked to climate change, "He adds. "We should not spend vast amounts of money to cut a tiny slice of the global temperature increase when this leads to a poor use of resources and when we could probably use these funds far more effectively in the developing world." For saying this, Lomborg has had death threats.

Other scientists who do not toe the global- warming- is- happening- and- it's- all- our- fault line have received the same. There are plenty of people who have doubts about global warming. A world of senior climatologists and meteorologists wrote to The Times last year to complain that they couldn't get their research findings published - because they disagreed to it. We have had a warm autumn. The experts, fanatics (狂热者) all of them, put it down to global warming. If we have an extra cold winter, they will tell us it's a result of global warming. If my big toe feels cold or hurts badly, it will be owing to global warming.

Writing a film review needs your patience to watch a film with a critic a eye, recognize all the information about it and then write a detailed film review. A good review is not just a summary of a movie, but a critical analysis that examines why and how a movie works and whether the film succeeds in its presentation.

When writing a film review, always consider who the intended audience is for the film and the audience you are writing for. Additionally, it should show clearly that you not only viewed the movie, but also read the novel or play which formed the basis of the movie.

You should focus your review around a larger argument, such as why the film works or fails to work and what are both the successful and unsuccessful elements. A good film review uses scenes and dialogue from the film to support its larger argument. Moreover, a good review focuses on whether and how a movie works and whether the reviewer recommends it. Finally a good reviewer shows how a movie works psychologically, emotionally, intellectually, and even spiritually.

Writing a review requires attention on the process of creating a well-structured paper.

lf you want your film review to be well written, you should follow these simple steps: Always include information on the director, main charters, the historical period used in this film, editing and camera work. Write an outline and thesis statement for your film review. Be creative and hardworking so that you can have chances of a good grade.

A. Watch a film with a critical eye.

B. Your writing is intended to be persuasive.

C. It is absolutely not an easy job.

D. Watching a film is more pleasant than writing a review.

E. Ask someone to help you with the film review.

F. Make sure that you have a thesis and supporting arguments.

A. To celebrate Asia heritage month, Trendy (New York) is proud to present "Cheongsam (旗炮) Night out. - A date with Cheongsam beauties in Shanghai Bund 1930".

May 16, 9: 0OPM-M1ay 17, 12: 00AM. EDT

330West 40th Street, New York. NY 10018

B. Featuring adaptations (改编本) from Chinese and Western classic, including works from Chinese Academy Award-winning composer 'Tan Dun, the Beijing Guitar Duo teamed up with Cuban guitar virtuoso Manuel Barrueco for a China West Concert at the New York Historical Society on April 23.

C. Join us as actress Tina Chen recounts the fascinating story of three generations of her mother's family and their contributions to the history of China.

Friday, May 8, 6: 30PM-7:30PM

China Institute

125East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065

D. A photography exhibition held by HAN Media to celebrate its founding in New York City on April 24, featuring three emerging Chinese photographers; Yingxi Michael Shi, Haiyin Lin and Liming Guan, whose works have appeared in publications such as Vogue, ELLE, The New York Times and others.

E. The first session of the China Institute in America short course Beijing: The City Through Its Architecture opens on Wednesday. Nancy S. Steinhardt discusses the Forbidden City and Beijing's imperial architecture.

F. Kunqu Society, the classical Chinese theater which combines singing, dancing and acting to literary works by masters of Ming and Qing Dynasties, performing introduces four signature plays of Kunqu Master Jiqing Zhang to American audiences.

Sunday, April 19, 2: 0OPM, EST

Miller Theatre at Columbia University

2960Broadway, New York, NY10027

When Xiang Xiuping was a little girl, she lived beside a road that local Miao ethnic people traveled on (go) to the market, and noticed how beautiful and delicate their traditional clothes were. From then on, she became interested in Miao embroidery(刺绣)， she belongs to the Tujia ethnic group. She began collecting Miao embroidery (piece) in 1990. After she was laid off from a tobacco factory in 2000，she opened embroidery workshop that employed workers who also lost their jobs. Since then, all her earnings (use) to buy embroidery for her collection. "The works are not only art, but also a silent language that (tell) the history of a civilization, "she said. The star piece in the shop is a 148-meter-longembroidery (finish) in March 2013. It was designed by Xiang and took 48 women, including Xiang, 26 months to complete. The work shows an old man in a Miao village telling stories of the ethnic group's history the prehistoric age until today. Xiang spent about 10ycars (gather) the stories.

要点包括:

1）简要介绍猜灯谜活动和意义

2）期待对方的到来

参考词汇：猜灯谜guessing lantern riddles注意∶

1）词数100左右;

2）可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Tom,

……

Yours,

Li Hua