北京市四中2020届九年级上学期英语期中考试试卷

— He __________ flowers in the garden now.

— Sure!

—They __________ about school's football match.

— Three times a day.

— No, Lucy is at home ________ she has got a high fever.

—Last week.

    About ten years ago, a very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a neighborhood street. He was going a little too fast in his new car.

    Suddenly, a stone 1 his new car and broke the window. The 2 driver jumped out of the car, caught the kid who threw the stone and shouted: "What are you doing? That's a new car and that stone you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

    "I'm sorry for breaking your new car, but I didn't know what else to do," the young boy apologized. "I 3 the stone because no one else would stop!"

    With tears on his face, the little boy said: "It's my older brother. He fell out of his wheelchair. Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's too heavy for me to lift him up." The driver was greatly 4. He quickly lifted the disabled boy back into the wheelchair and 5 to see that he was going to be okay.

    "You are a nice man. Thank you," the little child said. The businessman 6 the little boy push the wheelchair down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the car.

    After that, he kept the hole in his window to remind him of this message "Don't go through life so 7 that someone has to throw a stone at you to get your attention."

    The world sends a message and speaks to our 8. We all have the choice to listen...or wait for the stone!

Making a Difference

    I go to a private Catholic school, which is very big on community service(社区服务). You are actually looked down upon if you do not do some form of community service. Being a first-year student, I was 1 enough that I would not fit in, so I started looking at the different possibilities. Finally I decided to work as a volunteer at our local hospital, something my friend was already doing.

    When I started I felt very 2. I had heard the good and the bad sides of the hospital: staff and patients yelling at us, not doing the job well enough for this person, or not getting a wheelchair fast enough. But the good side of my new job was yet to come. My friend could only help me so much with training. Soon I was on my own. Many of my other friends asked me why I was doing a job for which I was not being paid. At first I could not answer the question but now I can. Every Monday I walk into the hospital not knowing what to 3. But now I look at my job with a different attitude. I no longer see it as a 4 to society, but as a way to try to help brighten someone's day, and help make things run more smoothly. Delivering flowers, medicine, papers, or just saying hi to a patient, especially the very young or the very old, makes a difference in their day.

    They now 5 me, and say hi. They tell me about their day and ask about mine.

    Once home, I know I have helped and made a difference.

    My job has its ups and downs. I've had my share of angry doctors and nurses. But I have had more smiling patients and little kids 6 my day. I have seen sides of people that can only be found in a hospital, both good and bad. I think it has taught me more of a life lesson than anything else. I now tell people when they ask me why I work for nothing, that there is a special feeling I get—the feeling that I did something good and was a friend to people who needed someone.

    More and more of my friends are thinking about 7 the hospital volunteer staff. But being a hospital volunteer is not the only job that is needed. I tell people to look around before making the decision to commit to a volunteer job, commit to an afternoon or a weekend first helping someone who needs it. I have found that volunteering has 8 my life in many good ways. I see life from a different angle now.

    When you see a movie, do you like to laugh or be frightened? Or do you like to feel your heart beat with excitement? Movies give you all those feelings and more! Head to a cinema soon and enjoy one of these films!

    One day a lady who was riding in a coach saw a boy on the road without wearing any shoes and was seemingly very painful. She asked the coachman to take him up, and said she would pay for him.

    When the coach reached the end of its journey, the kind lady found that the poor boy was going to the nearest sea port, trying to find a job as a sailor.

    Twenty years afterwards, on the same road, a sea captain who was on a coach saw an old lady walking tiredly along, and he made the coachman pull up his horses. He put the old lady inside, saying," I'll pay for her." Feeling thankful, the old lady said," I am too poor to pay for a ride now. You are such a kind man!"

    The captain told her that he always felt sorry for those who had to walk as she had been doing; then he added," I remember, twenty years ago, near this very place, I was a poor boy walking along the road, and a kind lady paid for me to ride."

    "Ah," she said," I am that lady! But things have changed with me since then."

    "Well," said the captain," I have made a fortune. I'm rich now and have come home to enjoy it. I will allow you twenty-five pounds a year as long as you live." The old lady burst into tears, and gratefully accepted the sailor's offer.

    "Throw the bread upon the waters, and you will find it after many days." Let me explain these words.

    In the land of Egypt the river Nile overflows its banks once a year. When the fields on the riversides are covered with the water, people throw their seed on it, and the seed sinks down into the soft mud. When the water disappears, the seed takes root. After many days, then comes the harvest, and rich crops of grain are reaped (收获).

    The lady had thrown her bread upon the waters and was rewarded (奖赏) with more bread. She had done a kind act to a poor boy; and, after many years, he in return was able to do her a great kindness.

    Most teens need about 8 to more than 9 hours of sleep each night. The right amount of sleep is necessary for anyone who wants to do well in a test or play sports without tripping over their feet. Unfortunately, though, many teens don't get enough sleep.

    ______________? Early starting time in some schools may play a role in this sleep deficit (不足). Teens who fall asleep after midnight may still have to get up early for school, meaning that they may only shorten into 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night. A couple of hours of missed sleep a night may not seem like a big deal, but can create a noticeable sleep deficit over time.

    Why is sleep important? Sleep deficit affects everything from a person's ability to pay attention in class to his or her mood. Research shows that more than 20% of high school students fall asleep in class, and experts have been able to tie lost sleep to poorer grades. Lack of sleep also damages teens' ability to do their best in sports. Slowed responses and less concentration(专注)caused by sleep deficit don't just affect school or sports performance, though. Lack of sleep slows reaction time, which can be life threatening for people who drive. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration reports that 1, 500 people are killed every year in crashes caused by drivers between the ages of 15 and 24 who are simply tired. Lack of sleep has also been linked to emotional troubles, such as feelings of sadness and depression. Sleep helps keep us physically healthy, too, by slowing our body's systems enough to re-energize us after everyday activities.

    How do I know if I'm getting enough sleep? Even if you think you're getting enough sleep, you may not be. Here are some of the signs that you may need more sleep: ⑴difficulty in waking up in the morning; ⑵inability to focus; ⑶falling asleep during classes; ⑷feelings of anxiety and even depression(忧郁). Recently, some researchers, parents, and teachers have suggested that middle and high school classes begin later in the morning to meet teens' need for more sleep. Some schools have already tried later starting time. You and your friends, parents, and teachers can call up for later start time at your school, but in the meantime you'll have to make changes on your own first.

    Scientist Stephen Hawking had to work really hard to speak. He chose letters and words from a screen controlled by movements of a muscle in his cheek. However, the slow system he used might soon be replaced. With a very different approach, doctors have found a way to get a person's speech directly from their brain.

    The system uses brain-reading software. It works only for sentences it has been trained on. Doctors at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) set out to create a better product,  which allows people who are paralyzed (瘫痪的) to communicate more quickly than Hawking's device, which uses muscle twitches(抽搐)to control a keyboard.

    The Study of Brain Activity

    The work was possible thanks to three patients. They had epilepsy(癫痫症). This is a condition that has something to do with the nerves. It causes seizures(痉挛). This is when their body suddenly moves on its own. They were about to have surgery(外科手术)for their condition.

    Before their surgery, they had a small device placed on their brain for at least a week. It was used to map their seizures. The patients could speak normally, and they agreed to take part in Doctor Chang's study. The doctor used the devices to record brain activity while each patient was asked nine questions. The patients were also asked to read a list of 24 possible responses.

    Using the recordings, Chang and his team built computer models. The models learned to match patterns of brain activity to the questions the patients heard and the answers they spoke. Once trained, the software could identify questions and responses almost instantly. It used only brain signals. It was correct on what question a patient heard 7 out of 10 times. The software identified what response they gave 6 out of 10 times.

    Improving Software to Read More Varied Speech

    Even with the breakthrough, there are hurdles ahead. One challenge is to improve the software so it can translate brain signals into a variety of speech. This will require software trained on a huge amount of spoken language and matching brain signals. These signals will be different from one person to another.

    Another goal is to read "imagined speech", or sentences spoken in the mind. The system in the study detects brain signals that are sent to move the mouth. However, for some patients these signals may not be enough. More advanced ways of reading sentences in the brain will be needed.

    Do you know we are living in the world of mass media? Mass media are tools of communication and allow us to record and pass information rapidly to a large, scattered audience.

    However, have you imagined what life would be without the media? Are you a media addict who would go mad after two hours without TV, friend requests, exciting online games and your mobile—or would you easily survive?

    Recently, university students around the world were asked to volunteer in a global experiment called Unplugged. It was designed to see how young people would react if they were asked to observe a total media ban(禁止)by unplugging all forms of media devices for 24 hours.

    Unplugged is being run by Dr. Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in Communication and Journalism at Bournemouth University. The experiment is now over but he doesn't yet know the full findings. However, during the experiment, Dr. Gerodimos said there were already signs of how much the exercise affected volunteers. He said: "They're reporting withdrawal(孤僻)symptoms, overeating, feeling nervous, isolated and disconnected."

    During their 24-hour ordeal, three volunteers had to endure one intrusion from the media: a BBC reporter plus cameraman who followed them around for the day. They were asked to write down 100 lines about their day offline, but of course, they all waited until the next day when they had access to their laptops.

    Elliot Day wrote: "Today, my whole morning routine was thrown up into the air. Despite being aware of the social importance of the media, I was surprised by how empty my life felt without the radio or newspapers."

    From Caroline Scott, we read: "I didn't expect it, but being taken away from the media for 24 hours resulted in my day-to-day activities becoming so much harder to carry out than usual… I didn't break out in a cold sweat like Dr. Roman Gerodimos expected us all to, but it's not something I would like to do again!"

    And Charlotte Gay wrote: "I have to say the most difficult item for me to be without has been my mobile; not only is it a social gadget, it's my main access point of communication."

    Earlier in the year, a UK government study found that in the UK we spend about half our waking hours using the media, often plugged into several things at once. And a recent study by Nielson found that on average, US teenagers send and receive over 3, 000 texts per month—that's about six texts per waking hour.

    So, with technology continuing to develop at an alarming rate, how much time will you set aside for sleep in the future?

题目①

假如你是李华，最近收到你的英国笔友Joe的来信。他通过新闻得知中国为庆祝建国70周年在天安门广场举办了盛大的阅兵仪式，他很想了解你是怎么度过今年的国庆假期的，以及你的感受。

提示词语: Tian'anmen Square，pay a visit to，watch a military parade，watch a movie，proud excited

提示问题：1）When is China's National Day?

2）What did you do during the National Day this year?

3）How did you feel about China's National Day this year?

题目②

某英文报纸以“你心中的英雄”为话题征文，请你投稿，介绍你心目中的英雄，谈一谈你为什么认为他或她是你心目中的英雄，以及你对英雄的看法。

提示词语：selfless，meet challenges，take risks，overcome difficulties，ordinary people

提示问题：1）Who is your hero?

2）Why do you think he or she is your hero?