浙江省宁波市慈溪市2020-2021学年八年级下学期英语期中...

When a fire alarm goes off, you know it! The sound makes you realize the 1.What if you were deaf? How would you know if an alarm 2, or if someone knocked on your door? If you took a walk 3 a busy street, you wouldn't hear the sound of a car coming at you. A signal dog could help you with all of these things!

Signal dogs are also called hearing ear dogs. They help people who are deaf by acting

 4their owners' "ears". They know  5to do when they hear certain sounds. These dogs can learn up to eight sounds, 6 sounds from sirens, doorbells, and crying babies.

Babies cry at night for many reasons. They might be hungry, 7, or wet. When they cry, the sound is pitiful! Even very sleepy parents will wake up quickly to help. But what if a mom and dad can't hear? That's when a signal dog can help. The dog can 8wake his owner up. He might  9him with his nose, or pull at his night clothes. When his 10wakes up, the dog runs to the baby. The dog may sit down near the baby's bed. If his owner doesn't 11, the dog does it again. The dog will run back and forth 12 his owner takes action. A signal dog does different things for each sound it knows.

People can train many 13 and kinds of hearing ear dogs. They look different and may not all move with beauty and grace, but all signal dogs are smart!  Large dogs are 14 in public places because they won't get step pennon. Small dogs, owever, can jump on your lap. Why is that important? Because signal dogs are more than just "ears". They are also 15.

There is a new trend(趋势)—letting kids choose their punishments (惩罚)when they do something wrong. Sally's mom has admitted(承认)that she uses the method and her daughter once chose having her computer taken away for a month as her punishment. Do you think this is a good way to courage better behavior (行为)？

How could we tell time if there were no watches or clocks anywhere in the world? The sun was probably the world's first "clock", except in the far north, where the Eskimos live. There, it's dark most of the winter, and light most of the summer. But inmost of the world, people have used clock. Even today, if you don't have a clock, you still know that when the sun shines, it's day, and when it's dark, it's night. The sun can also tell you if it's morning, noon, or afternoon.

People who live near the sea can tell time from the tides (潮汐). In the day time, for about six hours, the water rises higher and higher on the beach. And then it goes down and down for about six hours. The same thing happens again at night. There are two high tides and wo low tides every 24hours. Seamen on a ship learn how to tell time by looking at the moon and the stars. The whole sky is their clock. In some places in the world the wind comes up at about the same time every day or changes direction or stops blowing. In these places the wind can be the clock.

A sand clock is an even better clock. If you had fine dry sand in a glass shaped like the one in the picture, you would have what is called an hour glass. The sand in the hour glass goes from the top part to the bottom part in exactly an hour. When the hour glass is turned over, the sand will take another hour to go back again

Last year, I worked in a middle school near my mother's house, and I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I helped her do some housework and buy some food.

After the first week, I noticed that the food was eaten up very quickly. Then I began keeping an eye on my mum. To my surprise, I found that she would put some of the food into a paper bag and go out with it at about nine every morning. And finally, I decided to follow her. I saw her taking the food to the street children. She would also spend a lot of time talking and playing with them.

One day, I talked to a neighbor and found out that my mum was well­known in the area. The street children were very friendly with her and even thought of her as their own mother. Then it hit me—why wouldn't she want to tell me about it？Was she worried that I would stop buying food if I found out?

When my mum got home, I gave her a big hug (拥抱). I told her she didn't need to keep it a secret from me. And she told me something about the children. Some of them lived with an old lady in a small house. Others slept on the street. For years, she was helping the poor street children by giving them food. After she told me everything, I was so moved by how selfless (无私的) she was. She helped others in need. As her son, I was so proud of my mum.

I continued to buy food for my mum after that. But I always added one more bag for her other children.

Once a very rich man and his son collected valuable paintings by famous artists like Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet.

Later, the son left to join the army. After a few weeks, the old man received a letter saying his son had died while taking another soldier to a hospital. The old man became very lonely and sad.

One day, a soldier visited the old man and gave him a painting it was a portrait(肖像)of his son. The painting of his son became the old man's most valuable item. He told his neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received. The following spring, the old man died.

All of the old man's paintings would be sold at an auction(拍卖会). The auction began with the painting of the old man's son.

"Who will open the price at＄100?"the auctioneer(拍卖商) asked.

Moments passed and no one spoke or raised their hands. Someone said: "Who cares about that painting? Let's get on to the good ones. "More voices followed in agreement. "No, we must sell this one first," replied the auctioneer. "Now, who will take the portrait of the son?"

Finally, a good friend of the old man spoke," Ten dollars!" "Will anyone go higher?" called the auctioneer. After more silence he said, "Going once…Going twice… Sold!" The auctioneer then announced that the whole auction was over. "According to the old man's will(遗嘱), whoever takes the son's portrait gets the whole collection," the auctioneer said.

Because of the father's love, whoever took the son got it all.

You probably know some basic facts about deserts( 沙漠). For example, most people know

that deserts are dry places where more water evaporates(蒸发) each year than falls even with heavy rain. However, there are many facts about deserts that you may not know. Reading the following may help you find out more about these unusual areas.

Most deserts have less than 10 inches of rain each year. However, in some deserts of South American, it is true that rain almost never falls. In one desert in Chile, no rain has fallen for years in a row! All the rain falls within a single month!

Temperatures in deserts can reach above 37. 8℃ during the day, but can fall below zero at night. Areas that are too cold for anything to grow are called "frigid deserts." Other deserts are cold for long periods. The Gobi in Asia has icy temperatures for as long as six months at a time.

Although deserts can be low and flat, some have rocky hills and even mountains. Some also have lakes and plains covered with small rocks. Sand makes up only about 2 percent of North American deserts, 10 percent of the Sahara in northern Africa, and 30 percent of the Arabian Desert.

To survive in a dry desert environment, plants and animals, including humans, must make some adaptation. Desert plants cannot grow too close together because each plant would not get enough water. Other animals stay in holes underground or rest in the shade during the heat of the day.

Deserts cover about one fifth of Earth's land area. The largest desert in the world is the Sahara. The Sahara stretches from the Atlantic Ocean eastward to the Red Sea, spreading across parts of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania. It covers an area about the size of the United States.

—I can't see anything.

Ann: You look sad, Tom. What's wrong?

Tom: Well, I found my sister through my things yesterday. She took some of my new magazines and CDs.

Ann: Hmm…that is not very nice. Did she them to you?

Tom: Yes, Nut I'm still angry with her. What should I do?

Ann: Well, I guess you could tell her to say sorry. But why don't you forget about it so that you can be friends again? Although she's wrong, It's not a big.

Tom: You are right. Thank s for your .

Ann: No problem. Hope things work.

    Every morning, kids from a high school are working hard. They are (make) and selling special coffee at a coffee shop. They are also making a lot of money.

    These students can make up to nine (hundred) dollars a day. They are selling their special coffee to airplane passengers. After the students get paid, the rest  the money goes to a local youth project.

    These high school students use a space in the Oakland Airport. It is  (usual) very crowded. Many people who fly on the planes like to drink the special coffee.

    One customer(顾客) thinks that the coffee costs a lot  it is good and worth it. Most customers are pleasant but some  (be) unhappy. They do not like it if the coffee shop is not open for business.

    The students make$6. 10 an hour. They also get school credit(学分)while they learn how (run)a business. Many of the students enjoy the work although  took some time to learn how to do it.

    They have to  (learn) how to heat milk, load the pots, and add flavor. It takes some skills and Sometimes (mistake) are made. The most common mistake is forgetting to add the coffee.

提示：2017年8月8日夜晚9：20左右，一场突如其来的地震发生在九寨沟。假如你是Liu Mei，正和爸爸妈妈在九寨沟旅游。请根据下面的表格描述一下地震发生时的情况。要求：100～120词左右。

An Unforgettable Experience