【浙江英语·九年级下册】2024年期中提分精炼：阅读理解（人与自我）

1.  阅读理解

①Small talk refers to an informal (非正式的), polite conversation that often focuses on unimportant topics. Small talk topics are good conversation starters between people who don't know each other well. You should know what things to talk about and what to avoid.

②If you are looking for some good conversation starters, here are a few topics to consider.

③The weather is a good topic that everyone can discuss. Practice making small talk about the weather the next time you find yourself in the middle of a silence. It may open up other topics.

④People like to talk about their hobbies and are likely to be interested in yours. If you don't have any hobbies, consider trying something new. Not only will you have something to talk about, but having a hobby will give you a chance to meet others with similar interests.

⑤People like to hear about vacations. If you travel, be ready to answer questions and give your opinions about the places you have visited. Ask others about their favorite spots and what they recommend. Many people like to help others and will be happy to share their experiences.

⑥Once you know a few good conversation starters, it's also helpful to recognize what type of small talk topics you're better off avoiding.

⑦The problem with talking about polities is that you never know who in the crowd may have strong opinions. Stay away from this topic if you don't want to risk ending up in the middle of a heated conversation.

③Death is a heavy topic that should be avoided during small talk. When you are in the company of strangers, do not bring up emotional (情感的) topics.

⑨In addition, avoid questions related to appearance. Do not ask anyone if they have lost weight. You never know the reason for weight gain or loss and, as a result, you could be left in an uncomfortable situation.

2.  阅读短文，回答问题

Teachers have always had to face the problem of students cheating, whether in a public school or a private school, whether among the low-achieving students or ‘straight A' students. Why do students cheat?  

The main reason that students cheat is the high pressure from family. Students want their parents or grandparents to feel proud of them, or at least not to be disappointed in them. Another main reason is that it's likely to get the correct answer rather than considering student's abilities in school. As a result, what students care most is only scores. In addition, some students cheat simply because they're busy or lazy. 

Cheating can help you get ahead when it works and it is easy to do. The cheaters get good grades without spending much time studying. Some people think cheating makes difficult things seem easy. Cheating is a way for them to win and get what they want now. Honor and dishonor are meaningless if they win. They easily see the advantages in cheating, but often ignore the dangers in playing by their own rules instead of society's. 

Cheating successfully once often leads to cheating again and again. It can quickly become a habit that turns into a lifestyle. Without cheating , cheaters become afraid of failure. That is to say, it prevents the student from getting the chance to experience the achieving process. What's more, student who cheat may feel worried about getting caught, whether they are caught or not. These kids may feel guilty or embarrassed. Research has shown that not being able to experience trying hard directly affects one's self-confidence. Research has also shown that low self-esteem is the main cause of sadness. 

So cheating is like using drugs——it feels good at the moment but it has rather bad effects. The best way to teach our students is to put cheating out of their mind and love learning truly, to help them experience the satisfaction that comes from the knowledge as well as the self-confidence. There's an old saying that characters never win and winners never cheat. Kids who don't cheat are true winners. Because when they win, they do it honestly.

3. 阅读理解

①It is common to surf the Internet at home now. However, a recent survey showed over 90% of parents are not clear what websites their children visit. I strongly believe that a training project should be started to help parents to improve their Internet and computer skills. Then they can better monitor and guide their children.

② Providing training would get parents to pay more attention to their children's online activities. This is one advantage. If parents had a better understanding of the internet and websites, they would see the need to make sure that their children use it properly and responsibly.

③Providing training to parents would allow parents to help their children with their schoolwork as well. These days, some homework of online courses needs to be done on computer. If parents have poor computer skills, they will be of little or no help with the homework. That can make parents very upset. Some people argue that it is good that students can work independently on computers. However, it is clear that students, especially young students often need this kind of home support.

④) Improving parents' Internet and computer skills might also be a good way for parents to improve their relationships with their children. These days, children spend a lot of their free time on computers. If parents want to be part of their free time, they need to see that playing on computers can be a fun family activity. Joining their children can help parents bridge the gap between them and their children.

⑤Most people believe that children need to be helped and guided to use the Internet in a proper and responsible way. Therefore, training is extremely important.

4.        Car accidents happen everywhere every day and are the main cause of injury in the United States. In order to control the increasing（增长） accidents, many states have passed tough laws. Also, car manufacturers（制造商） have been trying to make safer cars to save lives.
      However, as there are more and more cars and drivers on the road, these safety measure （安全措施）are not enough to stop the increasing car accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration （管理部门）reports that a car accident happens every 10 seconds in the United States.
      Car accidents may be caused by different reasons. Some accidents are caused by driver's tiredness and illness or drunk driving. Some may be caused by speeding or running a red light. When this happens, by the time the driver realizes what has happened, it is usually too late. As for ages, young drivers usually have enough experience while elderly drivers of react slowly. Mechanical defects （机械毛病）such as a broken brake（刹车） are another cause of car accidents. Poor road and weather conditions can also be a cause.
     Talking about different causes of car accidents can help us know what precautions（预防措施） to take beforehand. We should tell our friends or family members not to drive in poor health or after drinking wine. We should tell teenager drivers to be careful with road and weather conditions and let elderly friends understand their driving limitation(局限性)。Besides, we should have our car checked regularly（规律地）. The most important thing for us to remember, however, is that we should always follow the traffic rules.

5. 阅读理解

When talking about obeying rules, Abby will never forget her experience with her father and her pet Tobias, a small mouse at the airport years ago.

One day, Abby's father was taking her to visit her grandmother and they are not allowed to take a mouse into another country. It was a rule. But Abby put the mouse into her sock in her bag secretly without telling her dad. When they arrived at the airport, they had to be checked by the X-ray machine. Abby felt her legs shaking and her heart beating fast. Unexpectedly, they passed.

On the plane, Abby opened up the bag after her dad and the woman next to her fell asleep. Tobias was excited to jump out from the bag. He landed upside down on the woman's knee. The woman screamed loudly so that many people on the plane heard the voice. At that moment, Abby put Tobias into her bag quickly. But her dad didn't know at all but slept.

After they landed, Abby's dad ticked(打勾) NO on a paper to："Are you bringing any live animals into the country？"But a man at the X-ray machine asked Abby to open her bag. Abby had to open and pulled out the sock. Then the man led Abby and her father into a small, dark room. There were some people in uniforms. Tobias was in the sock on the desk. One police officer talked to Abby's dad. "This is very serious, " said." You have tried to smuggle (偷运) an animal into this country and you have lied on the paper." "It's my fault, "Abby said in a small voice, "Dad didn't know I had Tobias." The police officer stared at her, "What's your name？Have you ever been in trouble before？"Abby opened her mouth, but no sound came out. At last, her dad had to pay a big fine(罚款)for what Abby did. It cost a lot of money. And Tobias had to go into quarantine(隔离检疫)for six months.

It must be a real lesson for Abby. From then on, she never breaks the rules anymore.