北京市2017年中考英语试卷

— Because I was tired.

— No, you needn't.

— I     to school on foot.

—Oh, yes. I bought it in a store on the Internet.

A Meaningful Gift

    Emily was an eighth grader. To pass her Civics course(公民课程), she had to do some volunteer service in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would 1 an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs. Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily 2awkwardly(别扭地)in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said, "Good afternoon. I'm Emily."

    "Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat, please." Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then, 3filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    "Tell me about yourself, Emily," Mrs. Blair said suddenly.

    "Well," Emily started, "I don't have any grandparents, so I can't relate to elderly people much. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to4 here to get a good grade for my Civics class."

    Mrs. Blair didn't seem to5. "Many people, especially teens, don't seem to care about old people like me. Now you are here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything."

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, "What was your job?"

    "I was a Broadway star in the 1950s." Mrs. Blair answered.

    "Cool! Can you tell me about it?" Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs. Blair smiled. "Back then, only the lead actress had the honor to wear a6 bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it."

    Emily smiled along with Mts. Blair and listened to the other stories, attentively. She had become so interested in Mrs. Blair's 7 that she decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really8to say goodbye.

    "Don't be sad. You can still visit me," Mrs. Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily," It's my gift to you."

    Emily9opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. "It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!" Emily said, with tears in her eyes. "I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm free."

    On the way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and made a 10that she would keep her word to Mrs. Blair.

Summer Programs at Museums

The Sixth Time I Went to the Principal's Office

    When I was in the seventh grade, I had problems behaving. My heart was in the right place, but I couldn't always follow the rules. I played many tricks on my schoolmates. Once, I even pulled a girl's hair on the school bus to get her attention. As a result, I was repeatedly sent to the office of the principal（校长）.Although I hated going there, I did not hate the principal, Mr. Ratcliff.

    Mr. Ratcliff was a kind, elderly man. When he spanked（打屁股） me for putting some ants into a classmate's pencil box, it didn't hurt at all, but it did hurt my feelings. I thought so much of him and moments like that seemed to prove I was hopelessly bad.

    When I got called to Mr. Ratcliff's office for the sixth time, I had no idea what I had done. I felt disappointed as I walked down there. I went into his office, sat down, and looked at the floor. Then he said the last thing I expected to hear:" Kevin, I've heard you've been behaving really well lately. I want you to know how proud I am of you, and I just called you down to my office to give you a peppermint."

    "Really?" I was surprised.

    "Yes. Now you can take that peppermint and go back to class."

    I carried the peppermint with me as if it was a gold coin. When I got into my classroom, I bragged （吹嘘） to my classmates about my turnaround, excitedly. I wasn't so bad after all.

    Mr. Ratcliff was really kind. He made me realize that I was just a kid who had problems with behavior. He bought some peppermints and took the time to notice me when I got something-anything-right. Mr. Ratcliff gave me some hope by giving me some love. I will just remember him for the rest of my life.

    Buying Is Doing?

    How important is shopping to you? How much time do you spend buying things? And how much time do you spend organizing these things in your home? In the future, how much time will you spend in movie theaters, at amusement parks, at shopping malls, or at convenience stores? When you add it all up, you will

probably see you spend a lot of your life consuming(消费)things. Consuming products is not necessarily bad. However, if we spend too much time doing it, we should look at it carefully.

    Imagine that you have a week off from school. You don't have to go to class. However, in this week, you cannot spend any money - no shopping, no movies, no eating out. How would you spend your time?

    What things would bring you happiness? Perhaps you would take a walk with your best friend. Perhaps you would help a child read. Or you might spend time with your family.

    When we look back, it is likely that non-consuming experiences like these will be our most important memories. Why? Non-consuming activities are active, not passive. They don't come in a package. You make the experience yourself. For example, each person who reads to a child will have a different experience. The experience changes with the reader, the child, and the book. Similarly, when you have a conversation with a friend, you are actively creating an experience. The conversation that you have with your friend cannot be experienced or recreated by anyone else. However, if you watch a movie with a friend, you will each have a package experience. It requires no action and little interaction between the two of you.

    The environment we live in encourages us to have packaged experiences. We feel that we must consume because we believe that buying is doing. However, we can start a personal revolution (变革)against consumerism. How? By consuming less. We can ask ourselves what experiences bring us the greatest satisfaction. Then we can organize our lives so that we have more of those kinds of experiences.

    Say you're sitting around with some friends playing video games and someone mentions a game that happens to be one of your favorites. "Oh, that game's easy. So not worth the time," one of your friends says. The others agree. Although you enjoy the game quite a lot, not wanting to argue with them, you go along　with the crowd.

    You have just experienced what is commonly referred to as peer pressure（同伴压力）, also called peer influence. You will adopt a certain type of behavior, dress, or attitude in order to be accepted as part of a group of your "peers". As a teen, you are likely to have experienced the effect of peer pressure in a number of different areas.

    We are all influenced by our peers at any age. For teens, as school and other activities take you away from home, you may spend more time with your friends than with your family. As you become more independent, your peers naturally play a greater role in your life.

    According to Dr. Casey from Cornell University, teens are very quick and accurate in making decisions on their own and in situations where they have time to think. However, when they make decisions in the heat of the moment or in social situations, their decisions are often influenced by factors like peers. In a recent study, teen volunteers played a video driving game, either alone or with friends watching. The researchers discovered that the number of risks teens took more than doubled when their friends were watching, compared with when they played alone. This shows that teens may find it more difficult to control　risky behavior when their friends are around, or in situations where they are extremely angry.

    Just as people can influence us to make unwise choices, they can also influence us to make good ones. A teen might join in a volunteer project because his or her friends are doing it, or get good grades because his or her friends think getting good grades is important. In fact, friends often encourage each other to study, or try out for sports.

    While we are always influenced by those around us, the decision to act or not is up to us. So when it comes to decision making, the choice is up to you.

From the Other Side

    Lara and Tara are twins., but they are very different in everything else. For example, hot food is Lara's favorite, and Tara has a sweet choice.

    However, this isn't the problem with the twin girls. They always argued that the opposite one was wrong., while Tara insisted that mornings were fresh and it was difficult to stay up till midnight.

    . To put an end to their fights, their parents decided to create a small drama. They wanted the girls to understand that they were both correct from their own point of view. Their parents covered the girls' eyes with black ribbons, and brought them to the dining room. Lara was asked to stand on one side of the board and Tara on the other. They couldn't see the other side of it. When the ribbons were taken away, they were surprised to see a huge board between them.

    Now, their father asked Lara, "What's the color of the board?" She replied, "It's black!" She replied, "It's white!" The two girls began to argue again. While Lara was confident it was black, Tara was sure it was white. Then, they were asked to exchange(交换)their places. They couldn't believe their eyes. Tara, who insisted it was a white board, saw a black one. Similarly, Lara, who argued the board was black, was shocked to see a white one. They understood that each of them was right in her own view. Most of us are like Lara and Tara. We are right most times, but insist that others are wrong!

A. They look like each other

B. For years, their arguments continued

C. Their mother asked Tara the same question

D. In the room, a big board was placed in the middle

E. Lara thought it was terrible to get up early in the morning

What's in a Name?

    Many American names come from England. But where did most English names come from?

    Centuries ago, most people in England had only one name-- their first name. In the 11th century, five or six of the 50 people in a village might be named William, and it was easy to get confused. But in the Middle Ages, people found a way to describe each person exactly. If there were four Williams in one village, one might be referred to as William the son of John. A second might be called William from the hill. A third, William the blacksmith(铁匠). And a fourth, William the brown haired. In conversation, people might refer to the four Williams as William John's son, William hill, William smith, and William brown.

    It was 300 or 400 years before the extra(附加的) names gradually developed into last names, or surnames. They were passed on from generation to generation. By the 1300s, Robert, the son of William smith, had the name Robert smith, even if he was not a blacksmith like his father. As the last name became widely accepted, the first letter was capitalized, as in Robert Smith. By the 15th century, most people of the upper and middle classes had surnames.

    Many surnames were based on father-son relations. The "son of" part was added to the father's first name, like Johnson, meaning John's son. Sometimes it was shortened to just "s", as in Jones or Evans.

    Surnames like Hill described the place where a person lived. They are the most common type of surname. A third kind of surname was based on a person's job. Forester was someone who looked after the forest. In the Middle Ages, occupation names such as Baker, Carpenter, and Miller became common. The fourth kind of surname was nickname(绰号). A man whose surname was Bear might be as fierce as a bear.

    Have you ever wondered why some surnames are so common? The most common surname in the English language is Smith. Being able to make metals(金属)into tools was an important skill in the Middle Ages, and many people were trained as blacksmiths. The most common American surnames are Smith, Johnson, William and Brown.