（浙江）初中英语2022-2023八年级上学期期中专项复习：阅读理解②（外研版）

You might use your mobile phones to take photos. But what about making films? The Golden Globe-nominated (提名的) director Lalu Wang has tried this. She made a short film on her phone to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Her film Nian(《阿年》) is about a well-known Chinese folk(民间) story. A young girl wants to find a beast(野兽) called Nian. But when she meets him, she finds that Nian isn't bad at all. They build a beautiful friendship together.

Making films on a phone is much cheaper than making on a professional movie camera. This lets young filmmakers(电影制作人) to start making their own movies. Wang said that another good thing about making on phones is that it lets filmmakers to be more mobile and free. After all, phones are easy to carry and use.

“We try to find out where else we can put our phones so we can get movies that are just a little bit more special," Wang said. “We thought, 'Oh, why don't we just put the phone inside of Nian's mouth?'” .

It's much like what photographer (摄影家) Chase Jarvis once said, “The best camera is the one that's with you. ”

Say you're sitting around with some friends playing video games and someone mentions a game that happens to be one of your favorites. "Oh，that game's easy. So not worth the time，" one of your friends says. The others agree. Although you enjoy the game quite a lot，you go along with the crowd.

You have just experienced what is commonly referred to as peer pressure（同伴压力），also called peer influence. You will adopt a certain type of behavior，dress，or attitude in order to be accepted as part of a group of your "peers". As a teen

We are all influenced by our peers at any age. For teens，as school and other activities take you away from home，you may spend more time with your friends than with your family. As you become more independent

According to Dr. Casey from Cornell University，teens are very quick and accurate（准确的） in making decisions on their own and in situations where they have time to think. However，their decisions are often influenced by factors like peers. In a recent study，teen volunteers played a video driving game，compared with when they played alone. This shows that teens may find it more difficult to control risky behavior when their friends are around，or in situations where they are extremely angry.

Just as people can influence us to make unwise choices，they can also influence us to make good ones. A teen might join in a volunteer project because his or her friends are doing it，or get good grades because his or her friends think getting good grades is important. In fact，or try out for sports.

While we are always influenced by those around us，the decision to act or not is up to us. So when it comes to decision making，the choice is up to you.

After winning the gold medal with three perfect scores in the women's 10-metre platform final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Quan Hongchan has charmed her way straight into the nation's heart.

Before all kinds of interview cameras, the 14-year-old girl said she was even more nervous than leaping off the 10-metre platform. She never thought of being a huge star on social media. She just told she must dive perfectly so that she could win some money for her mom's treatment.

Quan was born and raised in the rural village of Maihe, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. The family has five kids. Her parents had to work hard for their kids. But unluckily, in 2017, her mother was injured in a car accident on the way back from her work. From then on, Quan's father alone had to pay all the money for both the kids' education and Mom's medical bills. After knowing that, many fans and companies offered to help Quan's family.

During a visit to Maihe Primary School, Chen Huaming, the diving coach at Zhanjiang Sports School, noticed Quan. "Actually, she is a very talented athlete." Chen said, "If you looked too hard for such a talent, you might not find one. But somehow, when you don't expect it, she just shows up in front of you." Chen was pleased he found a true talent.

But Quan's father said "I don't agree only her talent makes her successful. If she didn't work hard, she couldn't be successful. If her coach didn't train her strictly, she couldn't get the gold medal."

Quan's story and her success have won the heart of the nation. She is very great. We should learn from her.

Have you noticed the waste bins(垃圾桶) in different colors on the street? Do you often put all the waste in the same bin? It's reported by Changchun Daily that people must do waste sorting(分类)in most places in Changchun at the end of 2019. Waste sorting is a wonderful way to make good use of energy and protect the environment. But do you know how to sort the waste?

Usually, people should sort their waste into four groups: wet, recyclable, harmful and dry. Different kinds of waste should go into different bins. Wet waste means the things you don't want but pigs can eat, mostly coming from your kitchen. Things that can be used again, such as paper, metal and glass, are recyclable(可回收的) waste. Harmful waste(有害垃圾) might be dangerous or cause serious pollution, like medicine and batteries(电池). And any waste that's not wet, recyclable or harmful will go into the dry waste bin.

Different countries are trying different ways to sort the waste. A university in England has invented a smart bin. When people drop their waste into the bin. It can tell what kind of waste it is and sort it correctly. The bin can also compress the waste to make it smaller in size and take up less space. In South Korea, people have to separate their food waste from other kinds of waste and pay for it. The more food waste they throw away, the more they pay. Japan has the strictest rules for waste sorting in the world. For example, plastic bottles and their caps should go into different bins.

Do you like adventures? This is an adventure story of Dodomo and his dog friend, Charlie IX.

Dodomo is a 13-year-old boy. He is interested in strange things He hopes to be a detective (侦探) some day.

One day, his grandpa gave him a gif. It is a dog. His name is Charlie IX. Dodomo loves dogs.

However, he doesn't like Charlie IX. Because Charlie IX is so weird!

The dog picks his own clothes. He only drinks milk and eats egg tart (蛋挞). And he even has bubble baths and watches TV! That can't be a normal dog!

Dodomo told his mom about it. But she didn't believe him at all. Dodomo decided to find the reason alone." I'm a detective!" he said to himself

But more and more weird things kept happening! Dodomo found a diary in his room. It was very old. Dodomo threw it away several times, but the diary always came back by itself! Dodomo was so scared(害怕的). At that time, Charlie IX started to talk! He said he was a noble(贵族的) dog and he was here to help Dodomo finish his adventure. The diary was from Dodomo's grandpa. It was the guide to their adventure.

What's in the book? What kind of adventures will they go on? The answers are all in the book Charlie Ix & Dodomo.

    Volleyball is very popular. Today there are more than 46 million(百万) Americans playing volleyball. About 800 million players around the world play volleyball about once a week. Do you like playing volleyball？Let's talk about it.

    Volleyball started in America. In 1895, William G. Morgan blended (融合) basketball, tennis and handball(手球) to make a game for his students. He was a teacher at the Young Men's Christian Association(基督教青年会) in Holyoke, Mass. At first, he just wanted to let the older students in his class exercise. And it was not called volleyball at that time. Now, volleyball is the second most popular sport in America.

    Chinese are also good at playing volleyball. The Chinese Women National Volleyball Team is one of the best teams in the world. They got the first place in the Olympic Games three times(1984, 2004 and 2016). In 2019, they won the Wold Cup for the fifth time.

    Jim loved traveling in his free time. Once he walked to a sacred shrine(圣地) in the Himalayas. The journey was long and the mountain road was hard to walk on. Though he carried little baggage(行李),the road was very difficult for him. He kept sweating(流汗). Just ahead of him, he saw a little girl, less than 10 years old, carrying a boy on her back. She was also moving on slowly. She panted(喘气) heavily, but her hands still firmly held the boy on her back .

    When passing by the little girl ,Jim said to her, "My girl, you must be very tired because what you carry is so heavy！"Hearing this, the little girl said, "What you carry is a weight, but what I carry is not a weight; He is my little brother. I must take him to the hospital."

    It is true that both a brother and a burden(负担) have a weight. But what the little girl said is also true: What she carried was her little brother, not a weight. She loved her little brother from the bottom of her heart.

Mark Zuckerberg, who starts the social network Facebook, often wears jeans and a T-shirt to work, including to important business meetings. Not everyone agrees with him. Some people say he doesn't look serious this way.

Harvard Business School researcher, Francesca Gino, has a different idea. While most people seem to think that dressing differently from those around you generally has a bad influence, she believes it can actually have a positive (积极的) effect. And she's done experiments to support her idea. When her researchers, wearing sportswear, visited the expensive shops in Italy, they were usually viewed as wealthier and more important people than those who were well-dressed in designer clothes.

Do people always view less formal (正式的) clothing more positively? Researchers in France took their research out into the street, to the general public. The video they made shows an actor dressed in a well-cut suit and shiny shoes. While walking along the road, he begins to cough badly, stops to catch his breath and falls down. Before he even calls for help, people rush to help him. In another video, the actor appears at the same crowded place and repeats the actions in exactly the same way. But this time, no one comes to help. What's the difference? He's wearing untidy clothes and looks like a homeless person. In a situation like this, the clothes you're wearing could mean the difference between life and death.

It seems that our clothing doesn't only change the way others view us, but also the way we see ourselves. In an experiment testing students' ability to pay attention to details (细节), the group wearing white lab coats did the best. Why? Researchers told them that they were wearing the doctors' coats. The experiment didn't show whether such influences would last long. More experiments are needed in the future before we decide to make the doctors' coats a must of fashion.

Teeth are important. Strong, healthy teeth help you chew(咀嚼) foods that help you grow. They help you speak clearly. And yes, they help you look best. Here are some tips for you to take care of your teeth:

⒈Brush your teeth the right way.

Brush your teeth at least twice a day – after breakfast and before bedtime. If you can, brush after lunch or after sweet snacks, too. Brush all of your teeth, not just the front ones. Spend time brushing teeth along the sides and back of your mouth. Spend at least three minutes each time you brush. Play a song you like to help pass the time. Get a new toothbrush every three months. When you buy toothbrush, be sure it has soft bristles(鬃毛).

⒉Learn how to floss(用牙线清洁牙齿) your teeth.

Flossing is a very important way to keep your teeth healthy. Food may hide between two teeth. Flossing can help get rid of (除去)it. You'll need to floss your teeth at least once a day.

⒊Have good eating habits.

You need to be careful about what you eat and drink. Eating sugar is a main reason of tooth decay(蛀牙).Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink water instead of soda(苏打).

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    Have you ever wanted to achieve something really amazing in life? Well, Greg Mortenson wanted to climb a mountain, but he ended up helping thousands of people to have a better life.

    Greg's story began with failure. In 1993, he set out to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain. But Greg never made it to the top. After five days, he stumbled (踉跄) into the village of Korphe in northern Pakistan, injured (受伤) and hungry. The kind villagers there looked after him for several days.

    Greg saw that the villagers were very poor and hungry, and some of them were ill. Also, the village school didn't have a roof (屋顶) and the children wrote on the ground with sticks. Greg knew he wanted to do something to help. "I'll build you a school, " he told the villagers. "I promise."

    Greg went back home to the USA to raise money for the school. He even lived in the car to save money! Finally he went back to Korphe and built the school. But this was just the beginning of something bigger! Since then, Greg's organization has built around 80 schools and run many others in Pakistan and other countries, too.

    Greg hasn't finished yet. He does many other things to help people in poor countries. He has got many prizes, but it's the smiles of the children he has helped that make him happy!

    Greg has just written a best­selling book about his story called ThreeCupsofTea. It's an interesting and exciting book which tells us what ordinary (普通的) people can do with courage and determination (决心)!