江苏省连云港市2023年九年级上学期英语开学考

—Well, it wasn't me. I didn't do it.

—We organize it once a year. 

—____

Once upon a time, there was a very lazy man who would always look for an easier way to feed himself. One 

day while he was1 something to eat, he saw the fruit farm. He looked around and didn't see anyone, 2 he quickly decided to steal some fruits. But3 , the farmer saw him and started to catch him. the lazy man got so4 that he ran towards the forest nearby and went inside it to hide.

After some time when he started to move on in the5 , he saw the wonderful scene. There was a6 . 

It had only two legs and still was crawling(爬) on them happily. The lazy man thought, "How can this fox stay alive in such a condition? The fox can't 7 , how is he able to feed himself or stay alive from the threat(威胁) of other animals?"

Suddenly, he saw the lion coming towards the fox8 a piece of meat already in his mouth. All the animals ran away and the lazy man climbed up the tree to save9 . But the fox stayed there only because he didn't have the ability to run on two legs. However, what happened next10 the lazy man. The lion left the piece of meat which was in his mouth for the fox!

The lazy man felt happy seeing all this. He thought the nature always has a11 to take care of what he created. He felt that the nature must have12 planned for him too. So he left that place and sat somewhere away alone waiting for someone to13 him too. As time started to pass, he kept looking at the road, waiting for his food. He waited there for 2 days without any food! Finally, he couldn't14 the hunger and started to leave.

He met a sage(智者) on the way. He told everything that happened to the sage. The old sage with a smile said, "It's15 that the nature has a plan for everyone. But you took it in a wrong way. He didn't want you to be like the fox. He wanted you to be like the lion. "

The size and shape(外形) of your ears show your character(性格) more than any other part of the face. Other parts of the face change shapes as we get older, but ears do not change their shapes. They only change in size. 

Reading people's character from their ears is a very old science. In very old times people thought that a person with big ears had a good and generous character. They thought that a person with pale(nearly white), small ears was dangerous. They also thought that the shape of the ears showed whether a person was musical or not. Today, too, many people believe that the size and the shape of the ear help you know if a person is musical.

Ears are all different, and each characteristic has a meaning. Next time when you look at a person, see if his or her ears are large or small. Look at the lobes (the lower part of the ear). Are they attached(连着) to the face? Ears that are always red mean that a person may get angry suddenly. Ears that are always cold and pale mean that a person has a nervous(神经质) character. And a big inside hole(耳蜗) of the ear means a person is musical. 

Last year, I went to Beijing Qizhi Special Education School for community service (社区服务). Before we took the bus, my friend asked me a question, "Why are you here?" I did not know how to answer the question. 

The school was not far from my school, but it looked like it was in a different world. A group of children were waiting for us. A boy walked toward me. He held my hands and pulled me to the ground. I kissed the earth and tasted nature. 

I could not understand what he was doing at first, then I was very angry. Though I was very angry, I controlled my anger. 

A teacher stopped this awkward (尴尬的) silence when she shouted at the boy. "What are you doing right here, right now?" she said. "You will never see your mum again if you keep doing this. Now, say sorry!" "Sorry," he cried fearfully and nervously. I said nothing, but I realized something about this child. After lunch I asked the teacher for information about the child's parents. 

She said that the child was very different from other students because of an illness. His family could not afford to treat him. He needed the kindness of his family, but they had abandoned him. So he depended on the support from the teachers and community service workers like us. 

I suddenly realized I could answer the question my friend asked me at the beginning of the day. 

Community service workers help others and make everyone feel better. There are so many people in the world that need help. Playing with lonely children may not make a big difference. But it can light a corner in the children's hearts, making them know they are loved by people. 

Every culture in the world has its own taboos(禁忌). The breaking of a taboo sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable. 

Last weekend, Wang Lin and I showed two foreigners around our city. Mr Singh was from India and Mr. White from USA. Mr. Singh seemed to be unhappy, Mr. White, however, was quite casual(随意). He said hello to me with a big smile and a wave of his hand. 

In the evening, I noticed that Mr. Singh didn't touch the beef and Mr. White seemed not to like chickens' claws. During the meal, Wang Lin said sorry to Mr. Singh and continued to explain that we didn't know it was a taboo in India to shake one's left hand. Mr. Singh explained that since oxen(牛) are sacred(神圣的) in India, people don't eat beef there. Mr. White joined in and said thatHe went on to say that Americans don't usually get into each other's personal space. Marriage, job and age are their taboos.

注意：1. 短文应包括所给内容要点，可适当发挥，使文章连贯；
2. 词数90词左右，短文开头已给出，不计入总词数。

In order to build a civilized(文明) city, we students are supposed to behave well in our daily life.