浙江省宁波市海曙区2021-2022学年八年级下学期英语期中...

One day during a Christmas holiday, I was taking a walk near my house.

Suddenly there came a voice（声音） behind me, "Excuse me, sir. " I turned around and saw a poor old man with 1 clothes, "Have you seen any money, about fifty dollars, around here? I 2 it just now. " He waited for my reply eagerly(渴望地).

"Sorry, I haven't." I answered. He went away, saying in a low voice, "Where is it? What 3 I do now? I really need the money. My wife is in hospital. "

He went along the road slowly. I could 4 that he was worried. Then I 5 an idea. I took out a fifty-dollar note and 6 it on the grass. "Here! Here is the money!" I picked it up and 7 it to him. He was 8 and ran away with great joy.

A week later, on a snowy afternoon, I heard 9 knocking at the door. It was the old man with a heavy bag on his shoulder. He put down the bag 10 and said "Thank you so much. I knew you gave me your own money that day, for my money was just some 11. But my wife was 12, and I really needed it to buy some medicine for her. So I 13it. " He added, "I have nothing to pay for your 14. Here's some rice I got from door to door for your children. As the saying goes. ‘A child who is 15 by many families grows stronger. ' I will be pleased if you like it. "

My wife and I were so moved that we could say nothing.

Do you know the two lovely mascots(吉祥物）? You may know the five "Fuwa" dolls from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. On September 17 of this year, the two lovely mascots first showed on TV. Now, let's see who they are.

Look at the panda! It looks like an astronaut(宇航员）。It wears an ice shell(冰壳）and looks fat, so we call it "Bing Dwen Dwen". White is the colour of ice and snow. "Bing Dwen Dwen" likes ice sports very much and is good at them. That's why it is the mascot of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

Do you think the red mascot looks like a lantern? The lantern's name is "Shuey Rhon Rhon". When the Chinese New Year comes, people always make or buy red lanterns. Red is the colour of hope and good luck. So people think their dreams will come true in the new year. "Shuey Rhon Rhon" can give players hope and help them do well in the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games(残奥会）.

Many people in different countries like the two mascots very much, and they show their love for them on the Internet.

About ten years ago when I was an undergraduate in college in New York，I was working as a practice student at my University's Museum of Natural History. One day while I was working at the cash register in the gift shop，I saw an elderly couple come in with a little girl in a wheelchair.

As I looked closer at this girl， I saw that she was seated on her chair.I then realized she had no arms or legs，just a head, neck and the trunk of the human body. She was wearing a little white dress with the patterns of red roses and yellow dots.

As the couple wheeled her up to me, I was looking down at the register. I turned my head towards the girl and gave her a wink（眨眼示意）.As I took the money from her grandparents, I looked back at the girl, who was giving me the most beautiful and largest smile I have ever seen.

 All of a sudden，her handicap was gone and all that I saw was this beautiful girl, whose smile just melted me and almost instantly gave me a completely new sense of what life was all about. I immediately felt full of hope and confidence. She took me, a poor, unhappy, college student, into her world﹣a world of smiles, love and warmth.

That was ten years ago, but I still remember it clearly as if it happened just yesterday. I'm a successful business person now and whenever I get down and think about the troubles of the world, I think about that little girl and the remarkable lesson about life that she taught me.

People and dogs have been living together for hundreds of years. When did dogs and people become friends? Where did dogs come from?

A group of scientists tried to answer these questions. They just finished a study about the history of dogs. In the study, they looked at the DNA of dogs all over the world and found that dogs, like humans, shared DNA with their family members. The scientists put together a big family tree for dogs. It went all the way back to the animal's beginning.

In this way, scientists learned about the history of dogs. The first dogs lived in Asia. They were born about 33, 000 years ago. At first, there were only about 6, 400 of them. Their parents were wolves (狼).

The new study answers many questions. It raises some, too. For example, what caused wolves in Asia to become dogs all those years ago?

One idea is that their DNA slowly changed and the wolves became dogs in the end. As time goes by, dogs became "man's best friends". Or it could happen the other way around. It was possible that some wolves started living with people before they became dogs. Living with people led to many changes to these wolves. It changed their DNA, so their offspring (后代) became dogs. In other words, it was possible that wolves were our friends before they became dogs.

By studying DNA, scientists now have a much better understanding of the history of dogs. _________________________. How exactly dogs came to be our friends is still unclear.

Most of you may not know how to plan your vacation well. The following is some advice on how to make your vacation meaningful and colorful.

You've worked hard most of the time. So it's the best time to relax yourself. You can join in some outdoor activities during your vacation，such as swimming，camping and mountain climbing. They can not only make you energetic but also can build up your body.

Always remember that you'll grow up and you must be independent. After all, you can't depend on your parents all the time. So you'd better learn some life skills such as cooking and washing.

Travel to some places of interest. In this way, you'll know different cultures. Beautiful sights can also make you happy.

Don't always sit in front of a computer or just stay in your room alone. It's great fun for family members to sit around the table and discuss sports, clothes or other interesting things.

You can sell old books or clothes to get money for those poor children during your vacation. And you can also volunteer to help some old people and disabled people.

If you follow the advice above, your vacation will be full of joy and meanings.

History is one of my favorite. I learn history in different ways. The history class in the United States is different from that in China.

Atmiddle schools, our history textbook is thin. It has only about 100 pages. We listen to the teacher, take notes and do exercises after school. In short, we learn mostly by listening in class.

However, in the US, I have a heavy, thick textbook. It has more than 1,000 pages. We have reading tasks before each class. Weto answer a few questions after. In class, we discuss a lot. The ideas not only come from the teacher, but also the students. Sometimes, we have more activities like debates. They are very. They encourage us to have independent thinking.

In fact, both ways work well. Which do you like?

Happiness is important for everyone. Most people want to be happy. , few people know how to find happiness. Money and success don't bring lasting happiness. Happiness depends on   (they). In other words, we make our own happiness.

Here are some ways to help you be happier.

The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life. We spend so much time  (think) about the future. You should enjoy life's simple pleasure,  as reading a good book or listening to your favourite music.

The  secret is to be active. Many people either go dancing  play sports. People can forget about their problems and think about the activities.

Finally, many people find happiness in helping others. According to students, when they volunteer their time to do many(mean) things for other people, they get a feeling of (satisfy). If you want to feel happier, do something nice. You can help a friend  his or her studies or go shopping to get food for an old neighbor.

Now, maybe you know  to find happiness!

注意：1）文中必须包括提示中的要点。可适当补充。

2）文中不得出现真实姓名和校名。

3）80词左右（文章的开头已给出，不计入总词数）

Dear Alan,

I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy these days.

I hope things will be better for you soon.

Mike