浙江省温州市第二中学2023-2024学年上学期九年级英语期中试卷

 It was the Christmas season of 2022. Nine-year-old Jaron and his six-year-old brother, Parker, were invited to attend a reading 1 sponsored(赞助) by a store in the hometown. The students who read the most books would each2 a bicycle. All they had to do was to have their parents and teachers sign for each book they read. 

Parker was especially3 because this was a great way for him to get a bike by reading books. He really wanted one and started to read books as fast as he could. But4 seemed to work hard for the competition. No matter how many books he read, he found it difficult to catch up with the others. 

However, his brother Jaron didn't5 the competition. As a member of the school football team, he had to train hard after school every day so that he6 did reading. But he still kept an eye on his younger brother. This afternoon, on his way home from school, he went to the store and checked how many books each reader had finished. He found that his younger brother had a7 chance of winning the competition.

Touched by the true meaning of Christmas—the happiness of8 , he hoped to win the competition, not for9 but for Parker. He really wanted to help Parker achieve his dream. But10 could he make it? Jaron read as much as eight hours a day. It was the excitement of giving such a wonderful gift that kept him going. 

The11 came when the final lists were to be turned in. Jaron's mother took him to the store, 12 he turned in his list. By reading 280 books, Jaron had won the prize for his younger brother!

In order to make it a big surprise, with his parents' help, he13 the bicycle in his grandma's basement(地下室).

14 Christmas Eve, the whole family gathered together at Grandma's home for a special family home evening. They talked and laughed. Then Jaron ran to the basement and wheeled out the two-wheeled treasure. Seeing what Jaron had done for Parker, the rest of the family15 smiled. Parker ran over to the bike, and the brothers hugged over the top of it.

There are lots of excellent museums in China, which are well worth visiting. Here are some of them. 

If you are not satisfied with your own photo, what can you do? You can use apps on your mobile phones to change photos of yourselves. Then you'll look perfect in the photo. This is called airbrushing. These days, with the development of technology, it's difficult to find a photo of a person in a magazine which hasn't been "improved" by airbrushing.

"You see these women with perfect faces, and you know they aren't real, " says 15-year-old Shelly. "But when you're reading an article about a famous person you like in magazines, you forget that, and just want to look like them. Corey, also 15, says, "People think it's just girls that care about this matter but it's boys, too. We're supposed to have big muscles(肉), like sportsmen, but that's impossible to get if it isn't our natural body shape. " Research has shown that seeing pictures of "perfect" girls in magazines makes readers feel less confident about the way they look. Luckily, there are plenty of people who want to change things. Actress Meghan Markle and Singer Paloma Faith have both spoken out about not liking magazines to airbrush their photos. The Girl Guides have introduced the "Free being me" badge(邀章), which members can get by spreading(传播) messages in their local community about how wonderful it is to have a natural look. These are small steps, but if people keep taking them, perhaps one day we'll find that the natural look is thought to be beautiful again.

Yawning(打哈欠) is something we all do—maybe because we're tired or we are not interested in the same old things. Sometimes, just seeing other people yawn can make us yawn, too. But why does it happen like this?

Many of us think we open our mouths when we yawn to take in more air, but in fact it appears there is no clear biological reason. According to BBC Bitesize, a new research suggests it might be because yawning cools the brain(大脑) down and stops it from yawn getting too hot, much like the fan in the computer. This might be why we're more likely to feel sleepy and yawn in warm temperatures.

What is clear is that we might yawn more when we're very tired and ready for a short sleep, and we can control ourselves when we do it. Yawning is something that we can't stop. It happens whether we want to or not. Once we start, nothing could stop us! It's also true that yawning is a contagious behavior. John Drury, a researcher from Sussex University, told BBC, "Dogs yawn when their owners yawn, and animals yawn to each other" His research of this behavior found that it is related to our social group and how close we are to these people, and that we are likely to copy their behavior.

Another research by the University of Nottingham in 2017 found similar results. They asked volunteers to watch other people yawn. They found people's ability to stop yawning was limited(限制) when others around them yawned. They also found when people were told not to yawn, or using electrical stimulation(电), their desire(欲望) to yawn would increase. These findings could be useful, the researchers said, because it might help treat other conditions like Tourette's(儿童抽动症), which involves the same area of the brain.

What is certain is that the act of yawning can happen at any time even when we think we're not tired.

"What will you do all your holiday?" asked Amy.

"I'll stay in bed late, and do nothing, " said Meg

"I have lots of books to read, "" said Jo.

"Let's not do any studying, Beth, " said Amy, "Let's play all the time. "

"I will if Mother doesn't mind, " said Beth. Mrs March agreed and said they could try it for a week.

"But, " she added, "I think by Saturday night you will find that all play and no work is as bad as all work and no play. "

The next day, Meg appeared at ten o'clock and ate breakfast alone. It was a lonely meal and the room was untidy. Jo read a book with her friend Laurie by the river. Beth was glad that she did not have to wash the cups and plates. Amy went for a walk, got caught in the rain and came home very wet.

At tea, everyone said that it had been a delightful(令人偷快的) but unusually long day. Meg now realised that she did not like the dress she had bought in the afternoon. Jo had a headache from rending too long. Beth couldn't find anything in her cupboard, and the rain had made Amy's dress so wet that she couldn't wear it to Katy Brown's party the next day.

    ▲    . She thought the girls would learn a lesson from the experience and she would wait and see. 

The week seemed to get longer and longer. Then Mrs March gave the maid(女佣) a holiday, and when the girls got up on Saturday, there was no breakfast ready, no fire in the kitchen, and no mother waiting for them. They must look after themselves. 

Secretly, they were all pleased to have something useful to do again. Beth and Amy put cups and plates on the table while Jo and Meg got the breakfast, and then Meg took some tea and an egg up to Mrs March. The tea was too strong and the egg was burned. Mrs March did not complain, but she laughed to herself afterwards. Jo wanted to invite Laurie to dinner. Her mother said she did not mind at all because she was going out for dinner. She would wait and see what happened. 

It was dinner time. Jo did her best, but the potatoes were still hard in the middle, the vegetables were cooked too long and fell to pieces, and the meat was burned black. The strawberries were not ready for eating and she put salt on them not sugar! Unfortunately, this was not discovered before Laurie began eating them. He pretended(假装) everything was all right, but Amy took a spoonful and ran from the table. When Jo learnt what was wrong, everyone began to laugh. 

What a terrible day!" said Jo, after they had cleared everything away.

Nearly two hundred years ago, thousands of people in the UK and the US came to the theaters to listen to a writer reading his own novels. Who was he? Well, his name was Charles Dickens. Now he (认为；考虑) to be one of the greatest writers around the world. 

Charles Dickens was born in February 1812 in England. In 1826, he became a clerk in a law office. He nearly became a professional actor before his (二十) birthday. However, he found writing more interesting, so he began to write stories  (代替). 

In the 1850s, Charles Dickens made a (决定) to tour Britain and America. He read and acted out passages from his novels. These reading tours were popular and people took (自豪感)in him. 

In 1865, he met with a terrible train accident. Luckily, he escaped from being hurt. After the accident, he was afraid of travelling by train, but he didn't stop his tours uJanuary, 1870 because of his health condition. He passed away that year.

In his life, Charles Dickens wrote many books, i Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations. In fact, he wrote at (最少)38 works. 

Although he has been d  for over one hundred and fifty years, he is still very popular today. So far, his novels (影响) millions of people around the world. He is exactly a great writer in the world. 

Do you know World Letter Writing Day? It falls on September I every year. It (set up) by Richard Simpkin in 2014. He encourages people to write a letter to someone by hand and they can take a break from today's social media. should you write to? Think about a friend or relative who lives far away. A parent or best friend would also love to receive (you) letter.

How do you write a letter? Generally speaking, a letter has these parts. The date and a greeting such as "Dear, …" should be on the top of the letter. A closing such as "Love" or "Yours" needs to follow the body. End it by (write) your name.

Why should you pick up a pen and write a letter? It is a surprise that may make someone's day. It's also good way to show people that you have been thinking of them. Everyone loves a personal touch. It brings a lot of (enjoy) memories. When people receive (letter), some even save them over the years. It is (simple) the most wonderful thing.

A recent study shows that letter writing (make) the writer happy, too. "Handwriting is your DNA. It's your fingerprint that you can share others, " said Richard Simpkin.

Let's get some paper and pick up a pen. Start writing a letter today!

Victor, now 18, began to do charrería, one of the best-known and most popular sports in Mexico(墨西哥) four years ago. 

He is now attending a Mexican school. It offers free classes to train young people in traditional cowboy skills. Newcomers and foreigners are welcome. Today, there are about 100 students, both girls and boys. They take part in three hours of training twice a week to improve their skills. 

The first challenge is to learn how to throw a lasso(套索) around the neck of a calm bull. After that, they learn to get on a horse using stirrups (马镫). Then comes learning to         ride the horse and finally to lasso moving animals. Victor has learned to ride a horse, as well as throw a lasso. 

Professional charros(墨西哥牛仔) also get along well with horses. They follow strict training and pay great attention to their horses' reactions(反应). For them, charrería is not just a weekend fun activity but a way of life, and caring for animals is a must.

"Charrería has grown a lot at the national level, " said De la Torre, who set up the school. "Most of the students at the school don't come from a charro family, but they love it. Becoming a charro really takes a lot of hard work. However, the job pays well. And the best age to start learning is 6 years old, but many students begin as teenagers. Anyone can learn well if he or she loves the work.

要求：1. 词数约 110 词，开头已给出，不计入总词数；
2. 文章中不得出现真实的个人信息。

To make our school life more colorful, I hope to have