浙江省杭州市萧山区六校2021-2022学年九年级12月份独立作业英语试题

"Watch this," Sam told his younger brother, Nick, one day. Sam threw three scarves into the air, one by one. As each fell, Sam caught it and threw it up again in a slow-moving circle.

 "Wow!" Nick said. "You learned to juggle(杂耍)."

 "Haha, I made it!" Sam laughed.

 "I want to juggle, too," Nick said. "Will you teach me?"

So after lunch, Sam taught Nick how to throw two scarves in an X shape—first the one in his right hand, then the one in his left.

"Adding the third one is difficult," Sam said.

"Like this?" Nick said. "Oops!"

Sam smiled. "It takes time to catch on."

But it didn't take Nick long at all. After supper, he ran into the family room, wearing a magician's hat.

"Watching Nick the talented juggler!" he announced. Then he began to juggle—slowly at first, then faster.

"Amazing!" Dad said.

"You're a natural!" said Mom.

Sam was silent.     ▲    Sam was older, and he'd been practicing longer. It wasn't fair.

A few weeks later, as Sam played basketball in the driveway, Nick hurried out of the house with his magician's hat.

"Guess what!" he said. "The community center is having a talent show. I'm going to juggle water balloons. Isn't that a great idea?"

It was. But Sam didn't want Nick to know he thought so.

On the morning of the talent show, Nick practiced one last time while Sam played basketball outside. Suddenly, Sam heard a splat(啪嗒).

Colorful balloon bits were everywhere around Nick's feet. "Do you think it's too late to cancel?" Nick moaned.

Sam couldn't help feeling bad for his brother. "Probably."

"Even if I'm sick?" Nick said. "My stomach kind of hurts."

Sam remembered his last basketball game. Before the game, he'd felt so nervous that he almost wished he could catch a cold so he'd have a reason not to play. At the same time, he'd wanted to play to prove(证明)he could. Maybe Nick felt the same way.

"You know what?" Sam said. "It's good you broke some balloons. If you do it now, you probably won't do it on stage. That's what my coach always says. Make your mistakes in practice, not during the game."

"Really?" Nick said doubtfully.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Come on. I'll help you fill more balloons before we leave!"

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!

Zhong Nanshan, the 85-year-old expert, went to fight against the outbreak of COVID-19 without hesitation. What he did touched people in the whole nation and he won the Medal of the Republic(共和国勋章)in September，2020.

Dr.Zhong was born in 1936 into a doctor family. Following the family tradition, he studied in medical school in Peking University. When he was in the university, Zhong broke the national record of 400-meter hurdle, so he was even chosen to be a professional athlete. But he decided to teach in the university after he graduated in 1960. He started his career as a doctor in Guangzhou in 1971.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, Zhong was the first one to admit that the epidemic(疫情)was"not under control". When there was a mass panic(恐慌)among medical staff, Zhong risked his life and treated the seriously ill patients in person. Finally, he developed the treating method for SARS.

When facing the COVID-19 outbreak, Zhong tried his best to seek useful ways to control the spread of new coronavirus(新型冠状病毒)and treat the infected patients. He also taught the public how to avoid being infected to stop the panic among people. After the epidemic was under control in April 2020, he joined in the vaccine(疫苗)development.

"You need to bear in mind that the most important thing is not treating the disease, but treating the patient,"said Zhong during an interview. "We need to heal their hearts and treat the disease." Zhong's life has always been closely connected with his patients and the development of the nation. He is a caring doctor, a virus fighter, and a guardian of the nation.

Hopes, ambitions(抱负), dreams. How many of yours will you achieve? When you look back at your life in the future, will you have good memories of all the things that you did? Or will you regret all the things that you didn't do?

Of course, there's no easy road to success, but one thing is certain: success won't come if you don't do anything. So how do you do it? This four-step model will help you to make your dreams come true  

 Step 1:

What would you like to do? Write down all your ambitions. They may be very general, such as I would like to be fitter. I want to be famous or It would be nice to have more friends. Or they may be more specific, like I've always wanted to play a musical instrument.

Step 2:

Now you need to do two things:

1 Choose one or two ambitions. If you try to do everything, you won't do anything.

2 Set a time limit(限定). This is very important, because you will have a goal and you will also know when you have reached it.

So, for example, I would like to be fitter. in Step 1 now becomes I will be fit enough to join a half-marathon race by the end of August.

Step 3:

Now that you' ve made your choice, what are you actually going to do to achieve your goal? So, in our example, I will be fit enough to join a half-marathon race by the end of August. becomes I'm going to join a running club. or I'm going to go Jogging three times a week.

Step 4:

This is when you change your intentions(意图) into specific actions. Prepare to do something at a specific time. If you don't do this, your dreams and plans will just stay as dreams and plans. So now I'm going to join a running club. becomes I'm meeting the president of the Cheetahs Running Club on Monday evening at 5: 30

Don't let your ambitions die. Follow this four-step plan and make your dream come true

Emily appeared on the stage. She took a deep breath and began to speak. Now she was Portia, a strong–willed1in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The theater was filled2people. She was speaking with a power she had never experienced before, the words flowing3from her.

In fact, Emily had never acted as such an important part in her life before the audition (试镜). She hated being in front of other people. She was very4at school. She had never thought she was good enough at anything to5much attention. She stayed mostly to herself, making few friends. She had excellent grades,6she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition, Emily's mother had heard about it and encouraged7to join in.

"I can't think of anyone else better suited to8the part. Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?"

Her mother wouldn't let the9drop. "You're just a little scared. Everyone gets scared. You know you10do it. The trick is to look past the11to find the love of what you're doing."

So Emily had made an appointment with the head of the Drama Club. She had read the play and found herself excited by the idea of speaking such12words. In secret she practiced Portia's part,13the lines by repeating them over and over. It wasn't hard; she loved every minute of it. Every time she spoke the words, she had a new14of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition, she performed two of Portia's famous speeches for the auditors. When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the15was hers.

When you were very young, you liked to play with your friends. Did you find that playtime was always more fun when everyone(share) the toys? Everyone got a turn. No one was left out.

That's a life lesson that changes as you get older. The idea of sharing hasnew meaning.

As you grow up, you begin to understand that others have less than you do. When you "have" things, you should help those "have less" than you do.

You can share with people in some ways. You can give them some of your money. You can share things you don't use any longer, such as old clothes and (toy).You can give them away to people without enough money (buy) them. Besides, you can help people by giving your time.

The last one(call) volunteering. Volunteering is about giving your time. You can take partactivities to help others. Every year, many thousands of volunteers in the world give (valuable) gift of all, their time.

Actually, volunteering isn't just about giving. You will also meet different people, get different experiences and learn important skills. A few hours in volunteering now will(possible) help you in the future. That's there is always a saying—The roses in her hand , the flavor(香气) in mine.

Dear Anna,

I'm really upset these days. We had a math test two days ago and I did poorly. What's worse, my math teacher announced our exam results on WeChat Groups. I feel nervous that my parents may get angry with me. What should I do? Can you give me some advice?

Yours,

Li Hua

Dear Li Hua,

Yours,

Anna