河南省焦作市普通高中2020-2021学年高一下学期英语期中...

A few years ago, my husband, Mike, and I would dine out on weekdays. One Wednesday afternoon, I was ever suggesting places to which he could take me for lunch when he interrupted（打断）me. "Rose" he said, "have you ever thought of taking me out to lunch? I would like to be wined and dined, too, and it would be nice if, for once, you picked up the check." I smiled at his words and said, "OK, but I'll choose the restaurant."

I drove us to Miller's Ale House, a family-style restaurant with good food and an affordable menu that we attend only during the daytime. As Mike and I walked in, I jokingly warmed Mike to look for the menu specials and to avoid ordering expensive drinks. The warm Ale house atmosphere, together with the hot meals, was a welcome compared to the cold February weather. What was not welcome, though, was the seating arrangement. And the man seated at the bar stool closest to us was carrying on a conversation in a very loud voice with two friends, often dropping an expletive (脏话). Mike and I finally gave up trying to hold a conversation and ate silently, making a mental note that in the future, we would be more careful with the seating we accepted.

Mike completed his meal and stepped away from the table. I waited for my check. While I waited, the man opposite me continued to talk loudly. This time, he looked around and saw me seated behind him. Facing me, he said, "I apologize for my language." I smiled and in a friendly voice said, "You have used that word many times since I sat down, and it was impossible not to hear you." We both laughed. The man apologized again, adding that his hearing is damaged so he speaks loudly. He said, "I'm paying for your lunch," I smiled, telling him it was not necessary, but he insisted. I said thank you and left the table.

I waited for my husband by the entrance. When Mike found me, I told him about the man's kindness. Mike stared at me and said, "It was the one time you were going to pay, and I lost out again."

If you're British or live in a Commonwealth nation, Christmas doesn't end on December 25. The day after Christmas is known as Boxing Day, and the relaxing holiday is a chance to allow the celebration for one more restful day.

But its name has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, and unlike the popular idea, did not appear from a need to return unwanted gifts or clean up trash produced by Christmas gifting.

There are several theories as to how that charitable tradition became known as "boxing". Some historians link the use of the term to boxes of donations that were laid in churches during the pre-Christmas season of Advent in the early days of Christianity during the second and third centuries A. D. The day after Christmas, the boxes were opened and the money was given away to the poor.

Another possible story for Boxing Day has to do with a tradition that formed in 19th century Victorian England, where servants sacrificed (牺牲) time with their own families to cater to their employers on Christmas. On the day after Christmas, employers would give the servants a rare day off and send them home with leftovers from the family's Christmas feast for their service.

Though the reasons are lost to history, Boxing Day charity eventually fell out of tradition—and was replaced with physical and material pleasures. Today, the holiday is linked with sports, with major football rugby, and cricket matches and horse races taking place on December 26.

December 26 is also a big shopping day throughout the UK and the Commonwealth. The holiday kicks off what is known as " Boxing Week", during which retailers（零售商）try to move old stock and shoppers compete for one last bargain of the year. In recent years, though, the American tradition of Black Friday—massive sales that take place the day after Thanksgiving each November—has become popular in the United Kingdom and has largely overshadowed Boxing Week.

The debate over washing dishes by hand and using a dishwasher has been on TreeHugger since it faced the world. In the earliest article I could find from 2005, the dishwasher came out the clear winner, with researchers from the University of Bonn saying it uses only half the energy and one-sixth the water.

Fifteen years later, we're still talking about it, and a new study published in the journal Environment Research Communications shows not much has changed. Dishwashers still take the prize for efficiency (效率), both in terms of energy and water used. The findings are interesting because kitchen cleanup is something we do every day, so why not learn the best way?

Forty participants were required first to load and run a dishwasher and then to wash dishes by hand the way they would at home. They answered survey questions afterwards about their dish washing behaviors. Three other participants were then required to load a dishwasher and wash dishes by hand following best practices. This meant not pre-rinsing (预冲洗) dishes before loading them in the dishwasher and using the recommended normal cycle with heated dry, rinse-aid, and high-quality cleaner. For washing dishes by hand, this meant using the two-basin method "where dishes are soaked (浸泡) in hot water, rinsed in cold water, and are air-dried."

These "best practices" differ from typical dish washing behaviors. Most people pre-rinse their dishes before loading them into a dishwasher. They also run the tap while washing by hand, which wastes large amounts of water, and rinse with hot water. The researcher found that these typical practices produce "5,620 and 2,090 kg of greenhouse gas emissions (排放) based on washing 4 loads a week for 10 years. "So the dishwasher was less than half as bad as hand-washing, even when improper techniques were used.

When it comes to water usage, the benefits of dishwashers continue. Over the course of ten years, a dishwasher will use 16,300 gallons of water, 99.8 percent of which comes from daily use; whereas, washing the same number of dishes by hand for ten years will use 34,200 gallons.

Good social skills are an important part of building rich friendships, enjoying yourself in public, and succeeding in your career. If you consider yourself to be shy, you might run into some trouble chatting with people you don't know. Don't worry—there are plenty of easy ways to improve your social skills throughout your daily life.

⒈ Compliment (赞美)someone.

Then, say hello and offer a compliment. Keep the conversation going by sharing simple ideas and asking questions. A friendly conversation with a stranger is an easy way to give your social skills a boost.

You could say "I love your coat" or "I really like the way you style your hair."

⒉

Teams are great ways to meet like-minded people. Strike up a conversation with someone sitting near you. You might say, "It's so nice to see so many people here" or "What brings you here?"

⒊ Listen to the people around you.

It's important to be open and vocal in a conversation, but don't try to control the dialogue. Listen for openings where you can ask relevant (相关的) questions throughout the conversation.

A. Join a class or club.

B. You might make a friend through the conversation.

C. The following are a few ways of developing praising skills.

D. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get started.

E. Listen to just an opening and jump into the conversation quickly.

F. Take a quick look to make sure the person isn't busy or in a hurry.

G. Being an active, attentive listener is a key part of good social skills

Teresa Perkins was driving 80 miles per hour. The woman knew she was going too fast, but it was the only1she had. Her dog, Jell, was dying in the backseat.

About a half hour earlier she had received a2from her daughter, Bliss Nuckols, reporting that while playing fetch, Jett3a ball which got stuck in its throat. Jett was4to breathe, Perkins rushed home to see if she could5, but the dog's mouth water had made the ball too slippery (滑的) to pull out by hand. They began their6to the vet's office.

About halfway there, Perkins got caught in construction traffic. Jett was struggling even more by that7and Perkins knew she only had minutes. Perkins began8blowing her horn, hoping to attract help, and9 catching the eye of several construction workers who rushed to her aid. In a(n) 10voice, she told them her dog was dying. One of the11workers, Cavaja Holt,12his hand down the dog's throat and pulled out the ball, but Jett still wasn't breathing. Then Holt gave him mouth-to-mouth breathing. It13—Jett soon started breathing, and Perkins was able to14driving to the vet. By the time she15the dog seemed to be doing much better. The staff there was16them and eight people ran out to help Jett.

Perkins was so panicked (惊慌的) that she17to ask his name. Later, Perkins' daughter and the worker, Cavaja Holt, both made Facebook posts about the18thing, asking their friends and followers to help get in touch with one another. Within minutes, someone19the two, Perkins drove back to the construction site and20Holt. "The man is truly a hero," she said.

China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sent(they) first spacecraft to Mars this week. A Chinese spacecraft went into orbit(轨道) around Mars on Wednesday. It followed a UAE's spacecraft that(successful) entered orbit on Tuesday. China's Tianwen-1 spacecraft spent seven months on the trip to Mars traveled nearly 475 million kilometers. Tianwen, the name ofancient poem, means "Quest for Heavenly Truth". The UAE's spacecraft is called Amal. Amal is the Arabic word for Hope.

The trips to Mars come at a time when both countries have made quick progress in space programs. China's space program brought moon rocks back to Earth in December. That is the first time that a spacecraft(return) to Earth with moon rocks since the 1970s. China was also the first country to manage(land) a spacecraft on the little-explored far side of the moon in 2019.

China's spacecraft will send a vehicle, called a rover, to land on the Marian surface. The goal is to search for(sign) of life in the area named Utopia Planitia,the U. S. Viking 2 lander landed in 1976. Along with Tianwen-1, Amal will join six other spacecraft already(operate) around Mars. Among them, three(be) from the United States.

增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。

删除：把多余的词用斜浅（ \）划掉。

修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。

注意：1．每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；

2．只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

The person I'm extremely thankful is my father. Every morning, when he gets up early to prepare a healthy breakfast for my family. Whatever busy he is, he will drive me to and from school, whether it was rainy or sunny. Whenever I am blue or feel anxious about my grades, he will take me to a park, or invite me to see the movie to help me get relaxing. Besides, the positive view he hold of life has an everlasting influence on myself. I'm a happy and confidence student because of his care or consideration.

1）活动时间和地点；

2）朗读要求；

3）注意事项。

注意：1）词数100左右；

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Peter,

……

Yours,

Li Hua