（浙江）初中英语2022-2023九年级上学期期中专项复习：阅读理解①（外研版）

For his honesty, former Mexican President Vicente Fox, was respected by the people. It was the personality that made him a president from an ordinary salesman.

Once, Fox was invited to a university to give a lecture. A student asked him, "Have you lied in your experience in politics?"

Fox said, "No, never."

The students whispered, but Fox wasn't angry. He said, "Perhaps it is hard to prove that I' m honest, honesty is always around us. Let me tell you a story which means a lot to me."

There was a father. One day, he felt the pavilion in the garden was too worn﹣down, so he had it dismantled. His son was so interested in it that he said to his father, I want to see how you have it dismantled, so can you wait until I come back from the boarding school?"

__________

However, after the boy left, the workers quickly dismantled the pavilion.

After returning from school, the boy saw what happened. He said to his father, "Dad

His father was surprised and said, "Sorry. I should keep my promise."

The father had the workers rebuild a pavilion in the shape of the old one. Then he called in his son and asked the workers to dismantle it.

I know the father, and he was in front of the child to achieve his own commitments.

Hearing this, the students asked, " Who's the father?"

Fox said, "He has died, but his son is still alive."

"Where's his son? He should be an honest man."

Fox said calmly, "His son is now standing here. It's me, I'd like to treat this country and everyone as my father treated me."

Dismantling and building a pavilion twice will not only satisfy a boy's wish, but also the moral requirement of an adult's self﹣improvement.

Chinese people often think of a rainy spring as a rather romantic (浪漫的) time to travel as the scenery seems to be more picturesque when it rains. If you are making, a plan for your spring trip, Shaoxing is the place to go.

Shaoxing lies in the south of the Yangtze River Delta (长江三角洲）in Zhejiang Province. It is one of the most famous historical cities in China. It is known for its rich culture, and as a city of bridges, tea and scholars(学者). A number of great scholars either were born here or spent an important part of their life in the city, including the great writer Lu Xun.

With a history of more than 1, 000 years, the area has many attractions, like the houses of famous historical people. In addition, the natural landscape alone is a good reason for a visit. During the rainy months of spring, visitors often take Wupeng Boats to enjoy its natural beauty.

Silk products in Shaoxing are of high quality and are very popular with tourists. Shaoxing is famous for its wine, too, if you go to Shaoxing, you will find it has something for everyone.

Mobile phones are one of the most useful inventions of the last 50 years, but not everything that is said about them is good. Mobile phones are usually to blame for a number of things: from headaches to house fires. One theory even blames mobile phones for the disappearance of bees!

The theory is that the bees' navigation systems are damaged by the radiation from mobile phones. Bees have a built-in system, and this helps them find their way back to their hives. But recently, thousands of bees have failed to find their way home.

The problem was first noticed by beekeepers in America and is a lot more serious than it at first seems. The important thing about bees is that most of the plants in many countries of the world are pollinated by them. Without bees, the plants can't grow. Many beekeepers in America and Europe have reported losing between 50 and 70 percent of their bees. Jim Piper, a London beekeeper, was recently asked how the problem was affecting him. “My business has been destroyed by this,” he complained.

Nobody has proved that this theory is true but it's a fact that bees are disappearing in very large numbers. And we can do nothing without them. Einstein said that if all our bees disappeared, man would only live for four more years! The situation firstly needs to be tested by the world's best scientists. If the result proves that the theory is correct, we need to do something about it immediately — before it is too late.

I walked into a stranger as he passed by me. "Excuse me," I said.

He replied with a smile and said, "Please excuse me, too. I didn't notice you. "We apologized(道歉) and went for our own ways.

Later that day, when I was cooking, my daughter was standing too near, When I turned to search for some milk, I nearly knocked her over. "Move out of the way!" I shouted.

She walked away sadly. But I didn't feel like I had to apologize to her.

While I was in bed that evening, my husband said to me. "While dealing with a stranger, you were polite. But with a daughter you love, you were unkind. Your daughter brought you some flowers that she picked herself this afternoon. You will find them in the kitchen by the door, Have you seen the tears(眼泪）in here yes?"

I quietly went and sat down by my daughter's bed.

"Honey, I am so sorry, "I said. "Are these the flowers you picked for me?"

She said, "I found them by the tree. I picked them because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue ones. "

I tearfully replied, "Sweetie, I'm really sorry for the way I acted today. I shouldn't have shouted at you. ""It's OK, I love you anyway. "She said as she kissed my face.

If we can be polite to strangers, why can't we do the same for the ones we love?

When most people think of "beautiful", they think of movie stars. I used to be one of them. But now my view of beauty has completely changed.

I was with my parents and little brothers at the McDonald's. Since there are only tables with four chairs, I'm always the one to sit at a nearby table by myself. Usually, I'm a little unhappy, but not this time.

A woman was sitting at a table, two tables away. She was young and pretty, not the traditional beauty, but a warm one. She had thick dark-brown hair and wore common clothes, but none of those was why she was so beautiful to me.

Her children spread the ice-cream all over their clothes, and she just kissed them and that's all. She didn't get angry. The love and warmth this woman generated(产生)completely changed my view of beauty. She generated warmth like the sun, and her children were little planets around her.

She made a difference to her children's lives. Instead of making them feel bad about themselves, she made them feel great about everything. That is true beauty: to make a positive difference to another's live through warmth and caring.

On Sunday 23 April, more than 30, 000 people joined in the 2017London Marathon, running 26.2 miles around the city center.

The London Marathon has taken place every year since 1981.At the first one, just 6,225 people completed the course，and since then it has grown into one of the most important sporting events in the world. Each winner receives $500,000 in prize money. However, most marathon runners are not professional (专业的). They run to raise money for charities or just as a personal experience. Many people do fun things to make themselves stand out, like wear silly clothes or do things instead of just running.

For example, Tom Harrison took three days just to reach the halfway point, as he was crawling on his hands and knees dressed as a gorilla (猩猩), trying to raise money and attention for "The Gorilla Organization".

One exciting part from this year's race was the story of Jackie and her husband, who got married on the morning of the marathon. Then they both ran the race，with Jackie doing it in her wedding dress! They were running to raise money for cancer charities, as Jackie was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer three years ago.

Matthew Rees was another runner to inspire (激励) people, as he stopped just before the finish line to help another runner run the last 200m. They did not know each other before, but Matthew saw that David was too tired to finish the race and wanted to help him finish.

Every year there are lots of inspiring stories like this from the London Marathon，and it is a huge achievement even to run the 26.2miles!

You pick up your phone and stare at it. The screen unlocks at once. But it won't do that for anyone else. The phone knows who you are. It recognizes (识别) the shape of your face. Welcome to the world of the latest iphone. It comes with a feature called Face ID.

Your face isn't the only characteristic you can use as a password. Many smartphones already accept fingerprint recognition. Other safety systems check the shape of the ear, patterns in the eye, or the way a person walks. All of these characteristics, called biometrics (生物识别技术), are unusual enough to identify someone.

People like using biometrics for safety because they're easy. You can't misplace or forget your own face. They're also usually very safe. It's hard to copy another person's body parts. But it's not impossible!

And the face may be one of the easiest body parts to copy. Most teens post plenty of photos online. These could probably help someone hack into (入侵) a safety system. In 2016, researchers at the University of North Carolina collected available Facebook photos. They used them to build 3D models of faces. Then they showed these fake faces to five different facial recognition systems. Four out of five let the cheater (骗子) in. (Face ID wasn't part of the test.)

Once a biometric password has been stolen, you can't easily change it. You can't get a new face! There's one more thing of Face ID that worries experts. It would be easy for someone else to hold your phone in front of your face to unlock it. For example, an angry sister or brother might do this to hack into your accounts.

Some people won't worry about all that. It's just so cool to use Face ID. As for me, l am always glad to use the new technology as long as it can make our lives easier and better. What do you think? Is it a good thing to you?

    Nowadays problems and worries are normal in our life. In order to deal with them, there are many ways, but I think asking others for help is a good way. Here are the examples.

    ①If you have a chance to go to Finland(芬兰), you will probably be surprised to find how "foolish" the Finnish people are.

    ②Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz(奔驰) with the money of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to do, and then walk off without paying. The driver would not show the least sign of being nervous and worried.

    ③The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration(登记) card to the waiter. With such a relaxing check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to get the meals free.

    ④The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the pay. From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly.

    ⑤With so many mistakes in everyday life, surely Finland must be a place to those who love to take "petty advantages"(小便宜). But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have done their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest record of the exact hours they put in.

    ⑥As you can see, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real "gentleman". In a society of such high moral(道德) practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?

    ①Some people like to be scared(受惊吓)! Choosing to be scared can be fun. Dr Margee Kerr, a sociologist, explained the science of fear(恐惧). "Some people like to be scared because they like the way their body changes," she says.

    ②Being scared is not always fun. When a balloon pops, we may jump.

    Our heart beats faster and harder. How does the body have the reactions? "When we meet something startling, our brain and body start making changes to help prepare us for the unknown," Dr. Kerr explains, "These changes are caused by the senses(感官), which always send information to the brain. It gives out chemicals into the bloodstream, and those chemicals act on different parts of the body. At the same time, the brain decides whether or not the danger is real."

    ③Fear is a tool that the brain uses to keep the body safe. It helps a person to hide, run away, or protect oneself. Our memories also help protect us. As we grow, we learn what's unsafe, and our brains keep those memories. Then our brains use fear to warn us of dangers. Dr. Kerr says, "  ▲  ."

    ④However, too much fear can be harmful because experiences can lead to long-lasting fears that may stop a person from trying new things. A long-lasting fear can mean you've had a bad experience, and your brain doesn't want you to have it again.

    ⑤Many people have beat their own fears. Instead of listening to their imagination, they learn the facts about anything that seems scary. Knowledge can help a person feel less afraid. Dr. Kerr grew up on a farm. She was scared of black bears in the woods before. She says, "After I read a lot about them, I knew for sure what to do if I ever met a bear and how to protect myself."