浙江省杭州市十三中教育集团2021-2022学年八年级上学期...

One early morning, I woke up by a cell call. It was from a taxi driver. He told me he had my friend's cell phone(手机).

My friend, Michael, left it in the taxi the night before. The driver called others, but I was the first one to answer his call.

It was a rainy morning. For taxi drivers in this big city, it's a fantastic time to make money. He asked me where he could drop the cell phone off. I told him the street where I lived. Then I quickly jumped out of bed and got dressed, so I could meet him at the corner.

When he arrived, I thanked him. And I was so happy for my friend, he moved to this country a few weeks ago – and I could only imagine(设想) how important his cell phone was to him!

I asked the taxi driver for his name, so my friend could thank him. He said my thanks were all that he needed. Then he drove off.

I e-mailed my friend telling him I had his phone. In the evening, he came to my home and I told him how I received (收到) it.

My friend was very excited to get back his cell phone. He said he would help others as possible as he could.

A lot of families in England grow vegetables. A few people grow unusual or strange vegetables. But a great many people grow tomatoes. My neighbor grows the biggest, sweetest, happiest tomatoes in the world. "How do you do it?" I ask. "Why can't I grow tomatoes like yours?"

"I talk to them," my neighbor says. "I've been talking to my tomatoes for years." Up to now, I have always laughed at this.

This summer, some scientists carried out an interesting experiment(实验), and I have just read their report.

Three sets of tomato plants were grown. Nobody talked to the first set, but every day for a month, a recording(录音) of a man's voice was played to the second set, and a recording of a woman's voice was played to the third set. At the end of the month, the second set of plants had grown four centimeters taller than the first, and the third set of plants had grown five centimeters taller than the second. The plants liked the woman's voice best.

"We can't explain(解释) it," a scientist said, "But sound waves surely help the tomatoes to grow. Plant growers have always paid attention to(关注) light and water. Now we advise you to think of sound waves in the same way."

A lot of people play sports, but very few people become sports professionals (专家). If sports aren't going to be your future, then why should you play them? Why should you train every day? Why should you work hard and feel sore (酸痛的) the next day? Wouldn't it be better to forget sports and only pay attention to your lessons? In fact, there are a lot of reasons to play sports.

First of all, sports are a great way to exercise. Exercising keeps you healthy and strong. It also helps you stay in a good condition. When you exercise, your body makes endorphins(安多芬) which give you more energy and make you feel happier.

Also, sports teach young people how to communicate and work as a team. They teach young people to respect(尊重) their coaches, teammates and players from the other team. Many reports say that sports help young people stay out of trouble. If a young person plays sports, he or she may have fewer problems. This is because sports teach people about rules. They also teach people that if they work hard, they might succeed.

Another good way of sports is that they make people leave their houses. These days, a lot of people spend too much time watching television and playing video games. When you play sports, you go outside and exercise in the sun. You take in fresh air. All of these things are important.

Maybe you're not going to become a sports professional, but that doesn't matter, sports will help you become a better and happier person. 

Things to do in London

You can choose between a hackney cab, a double-decker or the tube. A hackney cab is one of the 18,000 famous black taxis in London. A double-decker is another name for the red buses in London. And the tube is the London subway.

The Thames runs through the city. Take a boat ride and see all the famous sights(景点), like Big Ben, the Tower of London or St. Paul's Cathedral. It's also the best way to see the bridges: London Bridge, Tower Bridge, etc.

You can't visit London and not go to the British Museum. Also, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square has the best collection of European paintings in the world. Then there's the Tate Modern. It's full of art from Matisse to Miro. Of course, you can't miss Madame Tussauds. Here you can see wax models(蜡像) of famous people, like David Beckham.

There are lots of London soccer teams. Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal are the biggest. For tennis, you can visit Wimbledon, of course. Also, every April there's the London Marathon with about 30,000 runners.

Do you like movies? Get down to Leicester Square then. It's full of movie theaters with all the latest movies. Or, you can watch a show like The Phantom of the Opera in the West End. Are you looking for restaurants? Well, there are lots to choose from!

As the students went into the classroom, they could all tell something was wrong. Their 1 teacher was crying. Tom was the first to ask if there was anything they could do.

"Everything is fine, Tom," Mrs. Williams tried to 2 as she spoke. "I've just lost something important, and I don't think I can find it."

"What did you 3?" Mike asked. "Maybe we can help you look for it."

Mrs. Williams 4 their faces for some time. Finally, she answered, "Well, I left an old 5 on my desk. This newspaper belonged to (属于) my 6. I had hoped to share something in the paper with you in today's history class. The paper is old, but it is also 7 because she gave it to me before she died. It is something my grandmother left to 8. I couldn't find the newspaper when I came back from lunch."

The other students looked at each other. They 9 who had taken the paper and hoped nobody would do something like that. Everyone liked Mrs. Williams. No one wanted to make the teacher 10.

Trevor went over and spoke up for the whole class. "11, Mrs. Williams. We will all help you. We're sure to find it 12 we work together."

Mrs. Williams smiled again at her students. She knew they might not find the missing paper, but even if they didn't, she would 13 feel very lucky. She had a group of students who 14 her and each other, and that was probably the best thing she could ever hope to 15 in her life!

信。开头和结尾要得体，词数80左右，可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

Dear Matt,

……

Li Ping