湖北省罗田县2016届九年级上学期英语期中联考试卷

— I often practice English _____ chatting ______ my American friends.

— You can do more English exercises.

— Yes, I do. And you can see they are made         silk.

— Oh, dear. That depends on          it will be fine tomorrow.

— Sure. It's near the bank on the other side of the street.

— Yes. But if it ________, we'll visit the museum instead.

— No, I don't agree with you. They're too young to do that.

— Sure. Teachers always warn us ________ on the road because it's very dangerous.

— Though my dog         for three months, I still miss him.

— I         take a bus, but I         walking now.

—           I didn't hear clearly.

    Martin is a fifteen-year-old boy. He used to be a "problem child", but a recent 1 with his mother changed his life. He didn't use to give his mother many problems. 2 , after his father's death a few years ago, Martin's life became 3 more difficult. His mother couldn't afford to pay for her child's education. To do this, she 4 work, and so she was often not at home. His mother looked after him as 5 as she could. Unfortunately, Martin still caused problems. He was not 6 in studying and he often got into trouble. Luckily, his mother was very 7 and didn't give up trying to help him. In the end, she 8 a difficult decision: to send him to a boys' boarding school. Martin hated it and used to cause a lot of trouble. One day, he told his teacher he wanted to leave the school. The teacher said it was necessary for Martin to 9 with his mother. Martin called his mother, but to his 10 , this phone call changed his life. "It was exactly 11 I needed," he said. "My mother helped me to understand how much she had given me. She also told me that even though my father was no longer with us, he was 12 me and would always take pride in everything good I do. That's when I decided to change. I realize that 13 my father died, I have been afraid of being alone, and have tried to make my mother pay more attention to me." Now Martin has 14 changed. He has been working hard and is now one of the best students in his class. How was he able to change? His mother's 15 helped him to feel good about himself.

    Kites have a long history. They may date back(追溯到) long time ago. They were made of bamboo and silk in China. Nobody knows exactly how or when a kite was first flown, but it is said that when a Chinese farmer tied a string(绳子) to his hat to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind, the first kite was born.

    Children like playing with kites. Kites for work or play are made of wood, bamboo, paper, or silk. In 478 B.C., a Chinese philosopher(思想家), Mo Zi, spent three years making a kite out of light wood and bamboo. The earliest record of kite flying was in about 200 B.C. when the Chinese General(将军) Han Xin of Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city. He wanted to know how far his army would have to travel.

    In the 13^th century, Marco Polo wrote about how the shipping businessmen flew the huge kite in the wind before the ship set sail. They predicted the voyage(航海) in this way. If the kite went high and straight it meant a quick and successful voyage, but if it did not fly well,  it was a bad omen(预兆). In the late 1500s, the kite was introduced to Europe by the Italians. Kite flying was first mentioned in England in a popular book in 1589.

    We spend hours, days and years of our lives in school. Imagine(想象) you could design(设计) your dream school, what would it be like? What would you be doing? We wanted to find out what teenagers around the world thought. Here is what they said:

    Richard from the USA: My dream school would have a big swimming pool and two soccer fields. It would also have a cinema, a gym and a shopping centre. My school has none of these, and I think there should be more pleasant things for students to do while they are studying.

    Sonia from Italy: I'd like a room where we can relax and play computer games. I'd also like to have a music room. I think there should be a place for everyone to go and relax after class.

    Wu from Beijing: I think it would be great to have another day off (休息日) every week, besides the weekend. If that day was a Friday or a Monday, we would have a long weekend every week. What fun! I also think school should start later, at about 10 o'clock, and finish earlier.

    Hannah from Australia: In my dream school, I think the teachers should give us more freedom(自由) and choice about how we study and what we study. I also think it's not necessary for us to wear school uniforms every day. I really don't like wearing it.

    A life coach (人生导师) is somebody who helps you reach all kinds of personal and professional goals (目标). Each of us has the ability to be our own life coach. Here are some tips for you:

    ♦ Pay attention to your relationships with others.

    Ask yourself the following questions: What do you do with disagreements? When was the last time you showed your family members that you care for them? Your relationships with friends, family members and teachers show a lot about the kind of person you are.

    ♦ Face the fears about the future.

    Now, imagine that one of your good friends told you that he or she was not strong enough to go back to school. We often give better advice than we are willing to take ourselves. Remember that even the most successful people were probably told that what they wanted to do was impossible, but they followed their dreams and succeeded.

    ♦ Develop your talents.

    If you want to reach your goals, you will have to spend more time developing the talents you already have, and uncovering any hidden talents that you haven't discovered yet. So you can take classes in subjects that you are interested in, even if you have no experience.

    ♦ Be thankful (感激的).

    Take some time to be thankful for the things you do have. Remember positive (积极的) memories. Think of the best day(s) you have had in the past month or year. Remember special parties, vacations and holidays. Be thankful to the wonderful people you have in your life.

    Today, I'd like to tell you something about the history of the United States. The United States covers a large part of North America. After winning freedom from England, it had only 13 states. Each of the states had a star on the national flag. As the nation grew, new states were formed and there were new stars on the flag. For a long time, there were 48 states. In 1959 and 1960, two more stars, standing for the new states of Alaska and Hawaii（阿拉斯加州和夏威夷州）,were added to the flag. Indians were the first people of the land. Many people came from England. It is for that reason that the language of the US is English.

(Nancy comes to Huanggang for a tour. She meets Li Fei in the street.)

N: Good afternoon! I'm Nancy. Nice to meet you!

L: Nice to meet you, too. I'm Li Fei.

N: Yes. Huanggang is a beautiful city. Oh, where are you going?

L: I'm going to relax myself by West Lake.

N: Sure, I'd love to.

(Ten minutes later.)

N: Look! There are so many people boating on the lake. Why?

L: Qu Yuan was a great poet in ancient China. On that day, we also throw zongzi into the lake or river.

N: Sounds very interesting.

L: You're welcome. Oh, Nancy. I have to leave now. I'll get something for tomorrow's final-exam.

N: Good-bye!

L: Bye-bye!

注意：

发言稿须包括所有的要点, 要求语句通顺、意思连贯；

表格中"祝愿"一栏, 请用自己的2至3句话展开合理想象, 作适当发挥；

词数80个左右, 发言稿的开头和结尾已给出, 不计入总词数。

    Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, my dear teachers and fellow graduates.

    It is a great honour for me to make a speech on behalf of (代表) the graduating class of 2013. ……

    Goodbye, our beautiful school, our dear teachers and our friends.

    Thank you for listening.