（浙江省）九年级上学期2024年开学启航·英语题型精训营：阅读理解（人与自我）

Dr. Know will try her best to help with all your problems. 

Dear Doctor, 

I am a sixteen-year-old student and I've been experiencing lots of back pain and headaches lately. I'm unsure about the cause. Like some of my friends, I spend my evenings playing computer games and surfing the Internet. What's more, I carry a heavy schoolbag to school daily. I'm just an ordinary student, but these health problems are starting to worry me. What can I do?

Adam

Dear Adam, 

I'm unable to tell you exactly what's wrong, but I can offer some advice. First of all, don'tspend too much time on your computer, and stop using it late at night. It's important for teenagers toget enough sleep. Also, you get headaches from looking at computer screens for a long time. If yousit on a chair for long, it can make your back sore too. As for your schoolbag, it's important tomanage its weight. Take anything you don't need out of your schoolbag. If possible, leave somebooks or materials at school. 

I hope my advice is helpful. Anyway, I strongly recommend you visit a local doctor for that. 

Dr. Know

①If you read and listen to two articles every day, your reading and listening skills can be improved fast. Why should you do this?

②When you listen to people in your own language you do not translate. You simply understand. The same has to be in English. When you learn English, you have to learn the whole sentences in passages. 

③Students, who have the habit to translate English texts, do exercises and do tests, are very good at translating, doing exercises and doing tests, but they have problems with understanding English in real life. In real life , nobody waits for your translation. If you translate, you cannot follow what you are listening to or reading because you are thinking about the language too much. 

④You also have to hear every new word 5 to 10 times if you want to remember it. That's why we use the same words in one level. If you read and hear the same words again and again, you will understand them and remember them. If you know words from one level, you can go to a higher level and learn new words. It is important to go gradually. This is what we do with our news. In our short news, we use words which are used in English often. Level 1 has 1, 000 most important words. Level 2 has the 2,000 most important words. Level 3 has the 3, 000 most important words. 

⑤So, if you want to understand English fast and learn fast, come and visit this website www.newsinlevels.com every day. Here we have two pieces of news in three levels. We will help you learn English fat and understand it and you can learn 3, 000 words which you need for communication with any in English. 

Gareth Ellis, 13, is the youngest son of Alan, an engineer and Kath, a teacher. His older brothers work in banking and computers, but Gareth's dream was always to become a clown (小丑). Three years ago, Alan, Kath and Gareth joined the circus (马戏团). "People laugh when we tell them," says Kath. "But it's true. Gareth has wanted to be a clown since we took him to circus when he was three."

When Alan lost his job, he and Kath decide to see if they could find full-time circus jobs. They both got jobs with a famous circus and Gareth began training to be a clown. He calls himself bippo. They travel with the circus during the summer and return home for the winter. Gareth's brothers are old enough to look after the house while they are away.

"It was difficult," says Kath. "There was a lot to think about and organize. We only had a car and a very small caravan (拖车) to sleep in, and we were leaving behind our lovely house. The only thing Gareth missed was his long, hot baths."

"People ask about my education," says Gareth, "but from the beginning, wherever we go, someone has always come to teach me. I follow the same books as everyone back at school and I've got a computer. I've never fallen behind my classmates."

And the future? "It was a difficult decision," says Kath, "but there was no other way to teach Gareth about being a clown. I'm happy to say it's working, and we're enjoying it." And Gareth? "I'm going to be the main clown in a circus one day," he says, "perhaps bippo the Clown".

A rich boss owned a busy restaurant. On one holiday, he needed to hire extra workers. Early that morning, he went out to find some. He saw a man. He was looking for work.

"I will pay you $75 for the day. Would you like a job?" the boss asked. 

"Ok, well, that sounds fair." said the man. So he followed the boss to his restaurant to wash dishes,

At noon, the boss went out again. He saw a woman. He promised to pay her well. At last the woman also went to work in his restaurant. Late in the afternoon, the boss went out one more time. He saw a man on a street corner.

"Why are you doing nothing?" he asked. 

"I have no joB. " the man answered sadly.

"Well, then," said the boss, "come and work in my restaurant." And he promised to pay him for his time.

When the restaurant closed, the boss called the three workers.

"It's time to pay you wages," the boss said. 

"I will pay the one who started in the late afternoon first," The boss gave $75 to the last worker. The man who had worked since early morning saw this and was very happy. He was certain that he would be paid more. But the boss handed $75 to the woman who had started at noon and to him. He took $75 but complained to the boss.

"The man who was hired last worked only a few hours," he said. "I worked hard the whole day washing dishes but you paid me the same amount as you paid him."

"Listen, friend," said the boss. "I have not cheated you. You agreed to work a whole day for $75. Now take your money and go home. Can't I do what I like with my own money? Or are you upset because I am generous (慷慨的)？ Each person agreed to work for the wage I offered. You will never be happy if you compare yourself with others. Comparing and complaining always makes people unhappy."

When my oldest son was in high school, he planned to attend a concert with his young friends. To my surprise. Aron invited me to go along. I quickly accepted. However, by the time the date of the concert arrived, my youngest son had been ill, and I was worried about him. My husband encouraged me to attend the concert, promising he would look after our youngest son. Finally, it hit me. Aron was 16 years old. How many years would I have to do something fun with him before he went to college? And how many youths invite their mothers to attend a concert with them that was clearly for teens? The decision was made. I'd not miss this chance.

At the concert, I sat with Aron the third row, stuffing (填满) cotton in my ears to block out the loud music of the first performer. I stood when the kids stood, clapped (鼓掌) when they clapped, and never let anyone know how nervous I was to feel the floor shaking under my feet. Aron and his friends were amazed at my enthusiasm (热情). 

When we left the concert, my ears were ringing, but it quickly passed. So did my son's teenage years. Soon, he was in college and away from home. I missed him more than I could say. On days when I was especially lonely for his happy smile, I would think back to the concert we attended and myself again that didn't miss a chance to spend time with my son. 

Aron is now grown and has a family of his own, but we are still very close. Some days he calls just to chat and tell me about his day. I drop everything and enjoy the moment, knowing these times shall pass. 

I was traveling alone through the UK. To reach places that were off the public transportation map, I bought an old car, which cost most of my money. I couldn't afford to stay in the hotel, so I had to camp in my car for the rest of the trip.

One morning I awoke in my old car on a country road in Ireland and saw a single house. The water in my thermos (保温瓶) had gone cold, so I knocked on the door of the house. A woman opened it. I asked her for some hot water. But she wouldn't let me get away with just that! I was invited indoors. She asked me to sit at the table and have breakfast with her family. They fled my thermos before I left.

I was greatly moved. And I decided to pass the kindness on. The other day I met a young man who had been driving around to look for a parking lot. He looked increasingly upset. I was glad that I was able to point one out to him. His thankful smile was the hugest reward (奖赏 ) for me.

In his boyhood, every time they went out, his father would place him on the bicycle beam(车梁).

Slowly when he grew up, he could ride bicycle himself. Each time when they went out, he rode quickly ahead. And his father always rode in the back, shouting at him, "Ride slowly!" At this moment he always turned to his father and complained, "Ride quickly. You're too slow." Later, little by little, his father seemed to ride more slowly. He couldn't stand his father's speed, so he asked his father to ride in front of him and wanted to see if his father could ride faster.

However, his father always said, "You'd better ride in front of me as ever, so that I can follow you more quickly." At that time, he felt he had trouble understanding his father well. Then, slowly, his father became a dot behind him until finally out of sight.

In the end one day, he watched such a subject on TV, "In Africa, when the zebra group migrates(迁徙), will the adult male zebra walk in the front or in the back?" Naturally, he chose the front because he thought the strongest life should brave forward to pioneer for the successors (继承者). But the answer was opposite to his expectations (预期): In the migration, the adult male zebra would in the back to form a strong backing.

He suddenly thought of his father...

①Wonder, by United States writer R.J. Palacio, is a powerful story of a boy named August Pullman. He was born with a different face. When he first started school at 10, everyone stared (盯着看) and made fun of him. The story shows all the ups and downs August faced at his new school. Students often bullied him for not looking normal. But at the same time, he made true friends there and even won an award at his graduation ceremony.

②This book has touched my heart. It's not a fairy tale—life isn't one. Instead, the story shows things that could really happen in middle school.

③I also like this book because it's told from different points of view. Along with August, we get chapters (章节) showing other characters' points of view, including his sister. This gives readers a chance to understand different characters' feelings and thoughts.

④I think we can all relate to August. In one way or another, we are all just like him. We each have our differences, and we shouldn't try to change ourselves to fit in. We all experience ups and downs, but like August, we've all won. This book has also changed my attitude (态度) toward life. Despite all the brutality (残忍) in the world, there's always a reason to smile.

It was the last day of the school year. The classroom was filled with excitement. When our teacher, Mr. Johnson, walked in, holding a CD player, everyone's face lit up with a smile. We knew that this wasn't going to be another normal day, but a special one. 

"Please calm down and sit, "said Mr. Johnson, "I'm glad everyone's here for the final reading test of the year. "When everyone cried, Mr. Johnson laughed, saying it was just a joke. Then he reminded us that we still had a job to do. "You need to clean out your desks and put all your things into your backpacks. "he added gently.

As we began our task, Mr. Johnson turned on the CD player. The lively music made the room feel like a party. Some of us started singing along with the music, others were dancing around their desks while they were cleaning them out. Even Mr. Johnson showed us a few dance steps, making everyone laugh heartily. After we finished cleaning, someone asked, "When is break time?"Mr. Johnson took out some balls and started playing with them. Suddenly, he let the balls drop and said, "Break time starts… now!"

Just as we were about to rush out, our headmaster, Mrs. Miller, appeared at the door. "Mr. Johnson!" she cried out. A moment of silence fell over the room as we thought, "Mr. Johnson might be in trouble. "However, to our surprise, Mrs. Miller couldn't help but laugh at the sight and left us to enjoy our break.

During break time, Mr. Johnson surprised us with another treat. He went to the cafe and came back with ice creams for everyone. We all cheered for him!

As we walked back to the classroom, we passed Mrs. Miller's office. Someone joked, "Don't play with the ice creams, Mr. Johnson!" We all laughed together…