（浙江省）2022-2023学年初中英语八年级上学期期末专项复习——阅读理解（4小题）

Fights at school sometimes happen. But how can you keep away from a fight? Here's something you can do.

Be calm. Sometimes, you feel so angry that you really want to teach somebody a lesson. But being angry can't solve problems. Neither can a fight. Instead, it may bring you more problems. In the school, everyone involved(卷入) in a fight will be punished, no matter who started it. There are no winners in a fight.

Shout loudly. If you know someone is coming up behind you to attack, turn toward the person with your hands up in front of your body and loudly say "stop", before walking away. Loud voice can usually make the attacker calm down. If the person doesn't stop, cry for help by calling out the name of a teacher whose office is nearby.

    ▲    Your friend may ask you to join in a fight. Learn to say no. Helping him fight is not really helpful to him. If you really want to give him a hand, try to ask him to give it up. Also, you can tell him if he gets involved in a fight, he may get hurt and be punished. Then, try to learn why he wants a fight and help him find a right way to deal with the problem.  

If you follow my advice above, you may avoid being involved in a fight at school.

Travel around England

Amsterdam is the most bicycle-friendly capital in the world. Biking is a fun and an easy way of getting around Amsterdam. Students go to school by bicycle. People ride their bicycles to work. Travellers ride bicycles freely around the city. Even the police work by bicycle. You can see these every day in Amsterdam. There are many roads and traffic signs for bicycles. There are also many places for bicycle parking.

If you travel in Amsterdam, you don't need to take a bus or a taxi, just ride a bicycle. You can ride the bicycle along the roads and the streets to enjoy the scenery. The city has a lot of bicycle shops to choose from. If you do not want to buy a bicycle, you can go to bicycle rentals（租赁）. They are in almost every part of the city. Going for a ride is enjoyable. It's a good idea to find an experienced（有经验的） guide. Because he would take you to some of the city's most beautiful places. Riding bicycles in Amsterdam is great fun and relaxing; just remember to follow the traffic rules(规则) .

I was cycling one day and noticed a man in front of me, about 250 meters ahead. I could tell he was cycling a little slower than me and I decided to catch up with him.

I had about one kilometer to go on the road before turning off. So I started cycling faster and faster. After a few minutes I was only about 100 meters behind him, so I really picked up the pace (速度）and pushed myself.

      ▲       . I felt so good. "I win, " I thought. "But he might even not know we were racing(比赛). "

However, after I passed him, I was so focused on ( 集中注意力于） cycling against him that I missed(错过) my turn. I had to turn around and go back.

Isn't it just like life? We often focus on competing with others, trying to show that we are better than them. We spend our time chasing after(追赶) them and we miss out on our own way in life.

The problem with unhealthy competition is that it's a never-ending cycle. There will always be somebody in front of you. So stay focused and live a healthy life. Run your own race and wish others well.

Language students often think they have memory(记忆) problems. They worry because they can't remember words. In fact, the problem usually isn't with their memory. The problem is with how they study. In my opinion, using a right way is the most important.

To remember words better, you need to understand how memory works. There are two kinds of memory: short-term and long-term. When you see, hear or read something, it goes first into short-term memory. But short-term memory lasts for only a few seconds, that means we will forget things soon in short-term memory. You will only remember something longer if it goes into long-term memory. Your long-term memory is like a very big library with many, many books. And like a library, it's organized. When you put away(放好，储存) a book or memory, you can't just leave it anywhere. You have to choose a place where you can find it again.

How can you do this with vocabulary? The answer is to work with the word and think about the word in new ways. You can do this by writing new sentences with the word in it. Even better, you can invent a little story about the word, with people or places that you know. Another way is to make a picture in your mind with the word. For example, if the word is "height", you can think of the tallest person you know and try to guess his or her height. All of these activities are good ways to think about words. They make the meaning of words stronger in your long-term memory. And they give a way to find a word when you need it.

This is my idea about how to improve ways to remember words, and I hope it can help you.

People use languages to communicate(交流). Any language has its ways to express people's minds. One of the ways in common is the use of idioms(习语). An idiom is a group of words. It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning. For example, under the weather is an idiom meaning ill. So when people say "I'm under the weather", they are saying that they're not feeling well. Another example, in all weathers means in all kinds of weather. So, "There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot.

Different languages may have different ways to make idioms. For people who are learning a foreign language, idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless headaches. On the other hand if things are done right, idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk.

Metaphor (比喻) is often used in idioms. Let's read the following two examples:

▪ Example 1: It makes my blood(血液) boil (煮沸) when my brother breaks my computer.

▪ Example 2:The night was dark and quiet; my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside on a dark night.

In neither situation above, can our blood reach the point so high or so low in temperature. Yet, with the situations the two sentences created, it is not difficult to understand  the     ▲      feeling in the first example and very afraid in the second.

Of course, not all idioms are this easy to understand. When we come to idioms of a foreign language, a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested.

True friends are one soul in two bodies.

True friendship doesn't mean that when you need your friends' help, you will treat them to dinner, and when you have to protect yourself, you will put your friends in a difficult situation. On the contrary, true friendship is the communication of the hearts and understanding of the souls.

True friendship is like water, which is tasteless but is necessary to our body. Water is tasteless, but is of great help to satisfy (使满足) our thirst. True friends connect in hearts every minute.

True friendship is like medicine, though it tastes bitter, killing your illness. They criticize (批评) you to cool your head when others are praising you.

True friendship has nothing to do with fame, power, or money. They don't care what you are, but who you are. When you are happy, you are likely to forget them, but when you are in trouble, they are the first ones you will turn to for help.

True friends make you complete. Many persons accompany you, such as your parents and teachers. However, you still need friends. Without them, you are likely to feel deserted in spirit (精神) and spiritually unhealthy.

True friends stay in your heart, and try to bring out the best in you. Once you have found such a true friend, do cherish him or her.

Are we alone in the universe? Is there life beyond Earth?

On April 28th, 2020, China's radio telescope (射电望远镜) FAST, nicknamed "Eye of Heaven (天眼)"，began to look for alien life.

Radio telescopes can find signals from space. On Earth, our TVs and radios give out signals. Scientists believe that if aliens do exist, their technology would also give out signals like ours does.

Many radio telescopes around the world are being used to look for aliens. In 1977, for example, the Big Ear radio telescope in the USA found a strong 72-second signal from space. Many people believe it may have come from the intelligent life, but this is still a mystery.

FAST is the world's largest and most sensitive radio telescope. It can find even the weakest signals from space. Scientists are excited about what it might find in the future.

There is an old tree on a dry land. The tree has so many branches(树枝). It brings shadow (树辙)to hundreds of visitors.

One day, two visitors got to the tree. They walked for a long time in the hot sun. They were too hot and tried to find a place to rest. Luckily, they found the big tree.

They decided to take a rest under the tree. They slept there for a while. When they woke up, they felt hungry and one visitor climbed up the tree. But he was sad to see nothing.

He started to say bad words to the tree. "Oh, this is just a useless tree with no fruit on it!" The other visitor said nothing about the tree but asked his friend to be quiet. However, the visitor in the tree still shouted at the tree.

The tree couldn't stand(忍受) the visitor at last. He said in a sad yet strong voice, "You can't be so ungrateful(忘恩负义的) to me. Just look back to the moment when you got here in the hot sun! I gave you a cool and comfortable place to rest. You would die now without me!"

Many people do much for us, but we sometimes forget to give thanks but only complain (抱怨)!Make sure not to say any bad words to the one who has helped you.

What would you paint if someone asked you to tell them about China?

12-year-old Mao is a student from Chengdu Xichuan Middle School. Her painting, Future Is Coming, is on show at the International Youth Art Invitation Exhibition in Florence, Italy.

"My picture shows my opinion of what my hometown of Chengdu will be like in the future: there are skyscrapers(摩天大楼)and robots everywhere, as well as green forests, clean rivers and wild animals; scientists are sending rockets into space, while artists are performing Sichuan opera, "said Mao. "I want to show the beauty of China to the world. "

Mao started to learn painting at an early age. The paper and brushes have helped her to build friendships. When she was in second grade, she visited an Indonesian school. There, Mao used fun pictures to tell Indonesian students the meanings of different Chinese characters. The students really enjoyed her paintings. She even made close friends with one of her "fans".

"People around the world speak different languages. However,          and we can all understand it, "said Mao." To improve understanding and share ideas --that's what I love most about art."