江苏省东台市八校2016届九年级下学期英语期中测试

— Only one copy left. Would you like to have __________?

— Really? When _______ it?

— It ______ him. He has gone to Canada for his holiday.

— Yes, they only could make a living by selling newspapers and carrying bricks.

— _________. The person who was here has finished his lunch and left.

    I am sitting in an empty football field after my last high school football game that finished a few hours ago. I'm the mid-field player on my team. But in fact that's not 1 now. I was the mid-field player because, as I said, this was my 2 game. That's a good way to end a high school football career (生涯), especially if you win, but even though you don't, it's 3 to leave at a high point.

    I was eight when I first started playing football. My dad 4 football, and he used to practise with me at home – passing, catching, running. We used to practise almost every evening 5 it got too dark. He tried to teach me everything he knew about the 6.  “Just remember: don't ever 7.” “Stay in the game. Don't lose your concentration (专注).” “Go out there and give 110 percent every time.” Well, that was a long time ago, but I still hear his words 8 in my ears.

    I had a lot on my mind 9 the game today. I don't like things to end, I guess, and this was the last game. I was talking to myself and warning myself about what to do and not to do. I didn't sleep at all 10, and when the sun came up this morning, I reached the point where 11 just wanted it all to be over, finished, done. But then when the game started, my mind became 12. I just lived in this game, this moment. I didn't hear the crowd, I didn't feel the cold or the pain, I never felt tired. I just kept my eyes on the 13, and it was just me and the ball and, inside, a soft, white light 14 me the way to the goal. It was a beautiful, empty feeling.

    It's all over now, and it's really getting cold here. It's starting to snow. The sun's almost gone, and I can 15 see the goal. Now it's dark and I'm sitting here all alone. Well, I guess it's time to say good-bye and move on.

In some science fiction movies, evil robots refuse to die, no matter how hard people fight back.

Now science fiction has become science fact. For the first time, scientists have made a robot that can take a beating (挨打) and keep on going. Scientists from Cornell University made the robot, which looks like a spider with four legs.

    Until now, even the most advanced (先进的) robot was almost certain to break down when it was damaged. That is because its computer inside simply doesn't know how to make the machine work after its shape has changed.

To deal with this problem, the scientists put eight motors (发动机) and two sensors (传感器) that read how the machine is working. They all give signals to the machine's software. Using this information, the computer can then figure out the machine's shape at any moment.

The new technology is a big advance in robot-making, scientists say, and it's far from scary. It may someday help scientists create better artificial (假的) arms and legs and give new freedom to people who lose them. It might also help scientists understand how people and animals figure out their own sense of place in space.

    “It has been difficult to design robots that can work well when the environment changes or when it's damaged,” says Olaf Sporns of Indiana University in US. “With this work, we are nearer to solving this problem.”

    In order to know a foreign language thoroughly, four things are necessary. Firstly, we must be able to understand the language when we hear it spoken. Secondly, we must be able to speak it ourselves, correctly, with confidence and without hesitation. Thirdly, we must be able to read the language and fourthly, we must be able to write it. We must be able to compose（组成）sentences that are grammatically correct. We must know how to arrange sentences in paragraphs, so as to write a good letter or composition.

    There is no easy way to succeed in language learning. A good memory is of great help, but it is not enough simply to memorize rules from a grammar book. It is not much use learning by heart long lists of words and their meaning. We learn words not by ourselves, but in sentences. We must learn by using the language. “Learn through use” is a good piece of advice for those who are studying a new language. Practice is very important. We must practice speaking and writing the language whenever we can.

    In today's society, everyone is busy and running at a fast pace every day. We feel our time is valuable and needs to be used well. We need cheap meal ideas that can help us save time and money and still provide a healthy and nutritious (有营养的) dinner for us and our family.

    The fast food makers know we have little time and that the idea of cooking dinner after a long day at work is not something we look forward to. So the fast food makers offer us cheap food that requires no cooking, no cleaning, and only 25 minutes to pick up.

    But eating so much fast food will cause body fatness and fast food is not nutritious, so it's not the healthiest choice to consider. There are some very cheap meal ideas that take almost no time to prepare and will make coming home for a good meal more enjoyable.

    The first cheap meal idea is one dish which includes meat, vegetables and rice. This is not only a cheap meal idea, but also it is fast because it can be made in only 20 minutes.

    You can quickly make some pancakes and scrambled eggs for the family in about 30 minutes. If you think it is strange to eat breakfast food for dinner, consider how the same foods give you what you need to go through a whole day.

    Another cheap meal idea to try is a “macaroni and cheese with meat” dish, which only takes around 20 minutes to cook.

If you are interested in these cheap meal ideas, you're welcome to visit our website for details. When you fix one of these or other cheap meal ideas at home, you are taking time out of your busy day to treat yourself and your family in a special way.

    New rules and behavior standards for middle school students came out in March. Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only have high marks. They will also be kids who don't dye(染) their hair. The following are some of the new rules.

    Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else's work on an exam? Don't do it again! That's not something an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room, don't tell your parents you have done homework.

    Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-loving month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate? You should join! In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. When more people work together, it makes it more fun for everyone. Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only yourself.

    Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Maybe you'll discover Earth Ⅱ some day. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.

    Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.

    Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren't for kids, so try to look at web pages that are good for you. You can use the web for fun or homework. Can't you find any good websites for children? Here are some: Http:// kids.eastday.com, Http://www. chinakids. net. com, http ://www. cycnet.com.

    What would you think if you saw a fish walking? Would you look again i you saw a fish climbing a tree? There is a fish that does b of these things. It is called the tree-climbing fish. It is believed that a traveler to India first told about the tree-climbing fish. The fish was h  up in a tree. What was the fish doing in that tree? How did it get there? The traveler ta bird might have put it there.

    The next day the traveler saw a fish come out of the w. It was hard to believe, but up the road went the fish. It used its fins (鱼鳍) and tail to pull i along. It stopped to eat some worms. After the fish ate, it walked slowly over to a tree. Up, up it c. When it got high up in the tree, it took a rest.

    The traveler was s to see these things and told other people about the tree-climbing fish. The people wanted to know w this fish looked like. He explained the one he saw was dark brown and about one foot long.

    People can f the tree-climbing fish not only in India but also in the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, and other places. At one time, people saw the fish in Florida, America. Because the weather there was too terrible, it was not able to live there any longer.

最近二十一世纪学生英文报（21st Century Teens) “你说我说”栏目就“初中毕业后是否应该出国留学”这一话题进行了讨论。请根据提示，以“Study Abroad or Study in China?”为题，写一篇短文参与该栏目的讨论。

要求：1.表达清楚，语法正确，上下文连贯；  2.必须包括所有提供信息，并适当发挥；  3.词数：100左右（文章开头已给出，不计入总词数）。

Study Abroad or Study in China?

    In recent years, more and more students go abroad for further study after graduating from junior middle school. In our school we had a discussion on whether students should go abroad at that early age.