浙江省台州三区三校2019-2020学年九年级上学期英语期中...

    Stitch after stitch, Amy is embroidering(刺绣) her hand-made napkin.

    "Well, Amy, how are you getting on?" asked Lizzy, whose 1 seemed to fly over her work.

     "Not very fast," replied Amy. At the same time, she didn't 2 her eyes, "I have finished one side."

    "One side?" said Lizzy, "I'm now at the fourth side!

    "I know that I am 3but, I'll try my best." said Amy.

    "As I sew(缝) so fast," said Lizzy, "I'm sure to have finished my napkin 4 the bell rings for dinner. I'll run to see if the roses are out in the garden." Lizzy 5 went out of the room, leaving her work on a chair.

    Amy also longed for the flowers, but she kept on sewing and finished the 6 side of her napkin before her sister came back.

     "Ah, you slow little thing!" cried Lizzy "You will never 7 I'll have time to go to my room to put up my picture.

    Off went joyful Lizzy. Amy went on with her work. Before her sister 8 the room again, the third side of her napkin was done.

    "Why not finish your sewing first?" said Amy. "It must be near the time for 9.

    "Oh! I can finish it in two minutes. I want to read that funny storybook." "What if 10 can't?"

    "No fear of that!" cried Lizzy, "No one is so likely to be as a slow little thing like you!"

    Poor Amy made no 11. Quietly she worked on. Lizzy was soon deep in her story and she forgot all about her 12, till suddenly the sound of the bell woke her up.

    "Can it be dinner time?" she cried. "My napkin is not hemmed! And yours..."

    "It is just 13" said Amy, as she quietly put it away.

    "This is like 'The Rabbit and the Turtle(龟)', the faster, but not the winner, "thought Lizzy, who, though 14, had enough sense to take lesson: The quick may have the start, but the slow may 15 in the end.

    As long as everyone contributes a little, the world will become a much better place. Most people are kind-hearted and want to lend a helping hand. Now let's share some memorable moments.

Dear August,

    Welcome to the world! Your mom and I are so excited to see who you will become.

When your sister was born, we wrote a letter about the world we hoped she and now you will grow up in—a world with better education,          , stronger communities, and greater equality (平等).We wrote that with all the progress in science and technology, your generation (一代人) should live much better lives than ours, and we have a responsibility (责任) to do our part to make that happen.

    But rather than write about growing up, we want to talk about childhood. The world can be a serious place. That's why it's important to make time to go outside and play.

    You will be busy when you're older, so I hope you take time to smell all the flowers and put all the leaves you want in your bucket now. I hope you read your favorite Dr. Seuss books so many times you started inventing your own stories about the Vipper of VIPP. I hope you ride the carousel (旋转木马) with Max until you have tamed (驯服) every color horse. I hope you run as many laps (圈) around our living room and yards as you want. And then I hope you take a lot of naps. I hope you're a great sleeper. And I hope even in your dreams you feel how much we love you. Childhood is magical. You only get to be a child once, so don't spend it worrying too much about future. You have got us for that, and we'll do everything we possibly can to make sure the world is a better place for you and all the children in your generation. August, we love you so much and we're so excited to go on this adventure with you. We wish you a life of joy, love and the same hope you give us.

Love,

Mom and Dad

    When you think of money, you probably think of "cash" (现金). These are the paper notes and metal coins you use to buy things with. The first paper money was invented in China, and has been used for thousands of years. But in the near future, we may not use this type of money any more. Does this mean the end of money?

    Actually, only small percentage (百分比) of money is cash. Over 90％of money today exists inside computers at banks. It is mostly digital, just numbers. We also use cash less and less. Since the credit card was invented in the 1950s, people have used their "plastic" to pay for things more and more. Using a card is quick and easy. You don't have to carry around heavy change and count it. We also do more and more shopping online, so we don't need cash for that.

    In the near future, we probably won't use plastic cards either. All payments will be digital. We can already use our smartphones to pay. Soon, there will be shops we can walk in, take what we want and walk out, without waiting or counting money. Technology in the shop will know what we take.

    Of course, money will always exist in some forms. People will always need a way to buy and sell things and store their wealth. But the days of cash are numbered. This will make things easier, but it is also a pity. Paper money and coins are nice to look at and they show us something about where we are. It is also true that using cash makes us spend less money, because we feel we are losing something when we spend it. However, when we make plastic or digital payments, we don't feel this, and so spend more.

    Debt is something necessary, but it can be a big problem. Whatever money looks like in the future, we shouldn't spend money we don't have!

    This summer, thousands of visitors are walking in through a garden in the sky. It is right in the middle of New York City. They are enjoying a beautiful, new park called the High Line, which was built on old railway tracks.

    After the railway was no longer used in 1980, wild plants, grass and trees began to grow between the tracks. A few people looked at this natural garden and saw something amazing. They worked to protect the area when others wanted to pull it down. Today, the High Line attracts up to 2 million visitors every year. This summer, the new part of the High Line started, almost doubling the park's size to one mile.

    The design of the park is special. The new part includes many activities for children. Young people can use building toys, including wood, wheels, ropes, gears and tools, to create one-of-a kind structures(构造). The toys don't come with instructions. Instead, children use their imaginations to fashion houses, animals and machines.

     "Everyone supporting the High Line project wanted the park to go around the city," says Danya Sherman, director of public programs for the Friends of the High Line. The Friends of the High Line is the group that saved the railway from pulling down. Sherman believes that public spaces such as the High Line have the power to bring communities closer.

    The park also gives visitors a chance to experience nature in the city. The designers have allowed the park to keep the overgrown feeling that it had when it was an unused track. If you visit, you can see birds, butterflies and many plants that grow in the northeastern United States.

    The Friends of the High Line hope to make the park even larger, over an area that is still used as a rail yard. The High Line has also inspired projects in other cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago, and Amsterdam, where people hope to build new parks on old railway tracks.

    When I began working at Hillcrest High School three years ago, I was introduced to Sharon Dunn, the school's headmistress.

    Her smart (表情) made me like her at once. Her smart appearance and warm, friendly is a small-boned, smiling woman in her early fifties. She has shining blue eyes and soft grey hair. Although she dressed (简单地), she always manages to look nice

    She is a very fair-minded person who (对待) everyone in school in the same way. Even when she is upset, she is actually very calm. It is shown by her (能力) to overcome her feelings in the most difficult situations. Her quiet voice and gentle, (礼貌的) manner make her popular with the children.

    Ms. Dunn has no children of her (自己的), however, she says that she feels like a mother of the children in her school. In fact, she has no time for family life, since she gives her life to her job (完全地). She (处理) with different things every day, and she always takes time to talk to the teachers and parents (耐心地).

    To my mind, Sharon Dunn is an (教育的) expert who is a wonderful model, not only for the children but for the teachers, as well.

    Dubai is a city of big business, expensive hotels, skyscrapers, and shopping malls. In the early twentieth century, Dubai was a (success) trading port. People from the world stopped in Dubai to do business, it was still a small city. And most people lived as fishermen and businessmen. In1996, oil was discovered. This (bring) a lot of money into the area, and soon Dubai began to change.

    Today Dubai is one of the world's most important business (center). In fact, each year the city gets its money (main) from business, not oil.

    Recently Dubai has attracted (吸引) more and more visitors aboard. They come (relax) on its beaches and go shopping.

    Dubai is also one of the world's fastest growing cities. Many tall buildings (build) in months. The city has many man-made islands. One of (they), the Palm Jumeirah, is like a palm tree and is very beautiful.

    Many people welcome the city's growth. But number of Dubai natives worry about the speed of change. As a Dubai native says, "Our kids must know we worked very, very hard to get where we are now, and there's a lot more work to do."

    The Silk Road is the name of different roads that long ago connected Europe, Africa and Asia.

    People reached these different places along these roads. Scientists believe people began to travel along the Silk Road about 3,000 years ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road had covered almost 6,500 kilometers. It stretched from Rome to China, which is from the West to the Far East.

    Merchants(商人) travelling along the Silk Road carried silk, of course. They also carried and traded spices, cloth, gold and so on.

    During its busiest period, the Silk Road allowed people from many different cultures and countries to meet each other and mix. It also allowed the sharing of precious goods and new ideas. These included people and trading goods from Armenian, Indian, Chinese and other areas. All these people travelled the Silk Road, and they shared goods, stories, languages, and cultures.

    In modern times, the old Silk Road routes are still used, but now they are crossed by trains instead of camels. There is even a Silk Road Museum in Jiuquan in China. It has over 35,000 objects from all along the Silk Road. In this way, China protects the history of many countries and peoples.