江苏省兴化市大垛中心校2021-2022学年八年级下学期英语...

Table manners are about how to behave when you eat a meal. Different countries have different table manners. Now let's see some table manners in the following countries.

Japan

It is OK to make some noises when you eat noodles in Japan. Making some noises is not rude but is praise for the cook. The Japanese also say it tastes better if you make some noises while eating.

What else to watch: it's important to say "Thanks" before and after a meal.

France

In France, a meal is like a ceremony. People enjoy it and make it a special event. You should never discuss money over dinner. And going Dutch(各自付费）is not polite.

What else to watch: you need to finish everything on your plate.

Mexico

In Mexico, whenever you catch the eye of someone who's eating, even a stranger, it's good manners to say "buen provecho", which means "enjoy your meal".

What else to watch: where you sit is important in this country. Before you get seated, look for place cards, or wait until the host seats you. And you must say "Enjoy your meal." before you leave the table.

There were many plants in a forest. When spring came, a pine tree saw a red rose nearby and said,

"What a beautiful flower! I wish I were that lovely."

The rose proudly said, "It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest." Then the rose looked at a cactus (仙人掌) and said, "Look at that ugly plant full of thorns（刺）! "

"What a proud flower!" thought the trees.

As the days passed. the red rose often looked at the cactus and said bad words about it, like "This plant is useless. How sorry I am to be his neighbor! "

The cactus never got angry and even tried to advise the rose, saying, "God did not create any form of life without a purpose. "

Spring passed, and the weather became very hot. As there was no rain, the red rose began to wilt（枯萎）.

One day the rose saw birds put their beaks (喙) into the cactus and then fly away. The red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus.

"The cactus has water?" asked the rose.

Yes, you can also drink some from it. The birds can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help. "

The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus. But finally it did ask for help. The cactus kindly agreed.

The rose learned a lesson and never judged (评价) anyone by their appearance again.

One of the most popular board games in the USA is now becoming popular across parts of Asia.

Young people from countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan have taken up the game and are winning Scrabble tournaments(锦标赛）.

Scrabble is a board game played with small square pieces called tiles. There is a letter on each tile.

Players get seven tiles to start with and then take turns to make words. Each tile is worth a certain number of points. When all the tiles are placed on the board, the players add up their points. The player with the most points wins.

Scrabble tournaments have been held in the USA since the 1970s. However, the latest three youth Scrabble champions(冠军) have all come from Asia. Now, many Asian countries support after-school Scrabble clubs for young people to develop English language skills. And parents regard the board game as a fun way for kids to learn.

Scrabble became popular in Asia after a world-famous player moved there 20 years ago. New

Zealander Nigel Richards is a five-time world Scrabble champion. He is widely considered as the game's greatest player. In 2015 and 2018, he even won Scrabble's French tournament although he couldn't speak

French. He studied the French dictionary for nine weeks.

The winner of this year's Scrabble youth tournament, Thailand's Tarin Pairor, calls Richards one of his

Scrabble heroes. The teen once beat Richards during a tournament in India. Tarin said, "Everyone wants to be a world champion at least once. Even though I won the world championship, I will never stop playing. "

The story of Dr. Percy Julian is an example of one man's hard work and bravery. Percy was born in 1899 in Alabama, US. Because he was African-American, he couldn't go to the same schools as white children. The schools he went to did not teach science. And yet, he had a strong interest in chemistry.

After college, Percy wanted to go to graduate school, so he could become a chemist(化学家). But one school after another turned him down because of his skin color. Finally, Harvard University accepted him. He got his master's degree (硕士学位) at the age of 24. Then he went to Europe. In 1931, Percy became Dr. Percy Julian, a doctor of chemistry.

For the rest of his life, Dr., Julian worked with chemicals (化学物质) found in plants. He knew that some plants had chemicals that could heal (治愈) people. So he made those same chemicals in a lab. That meant more people could get the medicine they needed. He developed chemicals that treated people with eye diseases and ease (减轻)the pain that some people had in their bones. Dr. Julian also used chemicals to invent many new products.

After working at a company in Chicago for many years, Dr. Julian opened his own lab. Then, he started a school to teach young people to be chemists. Dr. Percy Julian died in 1975. Today, his discoveries(发现) continue to help millions of people.

Is it very interesting to travel by plane? For people who fly often in economy class（经济舱）, the answer may be no. They may feel very tired because of the limited room. But according to Ron Soret, an airplane scientist, there are some ways to enjoy the journey better.

Sit near the front of the plane. When choosing seats, choosing a seat near the front of the plane will have a smoother ride. Soret says, "The front part of the plane is usually the most comfortable. You hardly feel the turbulence(骚乱) if it is not very serious . " Soret also says the front part of the plane is the quietest.

Taking an aisle seat（靠走道座位） is also a good choice. Soret says the aisle seats have bigger leg room. But sitting on the aisle comes with the duty of getting up when fellow passengers in the row have to use the bathroom.

Paying attention to the temperature is important, too. Temperatures in the planes are usually similar to those of your home. And if you are too cold, you can ask for blankets.

—________. But please turn off the sound.

— She ______ Hong Kong on business for a few days.

— OK, of course not.

—________ is OK. I'm really thirsty after such a long walk.

— For about twenty years.

—Not ________. What's the latest news about our Chinese astronauts?

— Oh, sorry. It's a(n) ________.

—So we should do more exercise to build our body, right?

— Everyone ________ us ________ the match, but we lost.

It was a sunny and enjoyable day. Everyone in the1station was waiting for the train to arrive. Among the crowd, there was a group of young friends who were on board for vacation.

It was a2station with a lot of people and some juice stores, coffee and tea stalls, newspaper stores, etc. The train was arriving and everyone prepared to 3the train.

The group of friends made loud noise to4the train as it moved into the station. They ran to get their seats5anyone else entered the train.

The empty seats were6and the train whistled(鸣汽笛) to move. A man with a teenager aged around 15 had their seats just next to the group of friends. The teenager was so7to see everything. He cheered, "Dad. The train is moving, and the things are moving backwards. "

His father8and nodded his head.

As the train started moving fast, the teenager again shouted, " Dad, the 9are green in color and run backwards very fast," his father said, "Yes, dear. " and smiled.

Just like a kid. He was watching everything with great10.

A fruit seller passed, the teenager said to his dad, "I want to eat11. " His father bought some for him. He said, "Oh, this apple looks a lot sweeter than it tastes. I love this color. "

The group of friends were watching all the12of this teenager, and asked the teenager's father. "Does your son have any problems? Why is he behaving so13?"

"His son is mad, I think. " a friend from the group made fun of him, and shouted. The father of the teenager, with patience,14them, "My son was born 15. Only a few days ago, he was operated on. He is seeing different things in his life for the first time. "

注意：每个空格只填一个单词。

Five Suggestions on Goal Setting

Setting goals can help you do your best in life easily. The following can help you:

Small goals work well. Remember a small goal is easier to reach than a bigger one. So you'd better make a small goal each time. That's helpful to you.

Good habits help you much. It usually takes time for you to develop a habit—maybe a few months, for example, getting up half an hour earlier to exercise. Why? That's because your brain needs enough time to get used to the habit.

Repeat your goals. Say your goals out before a mirror loudly in the morning every day. In this way, you can remember what you want and what you are working for. Also, writing your goals down also works. It will train your brain to accept your goals.

Make changes only for yourself. You have to reach a goal just because you want it, not because any others, like a girlfriend, boyfriend, coach, parent or someone else, want you to do. It will be more difficult to keep active in reaching a goal for any others.

Being always lazy will make you fail. It may take a few tries before you reach a goal. But that's OK –it's normal to give up a few times when trying to reach a goal. But you will fail if you are always lazy. Don't give up or you will lose a chance to change yourself in your life. And maybe it will be a great pity for you in your own life.

Can you think of ways to make the world greener? Here is an e. A couple have t around the world in 297 days—w taking any planes. Tom Fewins and Lara Lockwood used 78 buses, 61 trains, 34 cars, 18 boats, six bicycles, and e one elephant. They wanted to prove（证明）that tourists can s travel (good) without damaging（破坏）the e. They aimed to produce l than 3,000 kg of carbon dioxide（二氧化碳）, compared with six times that amount if they had gone by plane.

They spent ten months travelling 44,609 miles t 18 countries on land and sea. The couple's world tour b in June 2008 with a two-hour bus trip to London from their home in Oxforshire. They took the train to Brussels and then c a bus and train to Hamburg before going to Copenhagen. The couple even ron an elephant for 15 miles through the Chinese part of the Mekong River（湄公河）.

The couple hoped to write a book about their j. They thought it could teach other travelers how (travel) in a greener way.

要求: 1）内容完整，适当发挥，语言准确，语句通顺，语意连贯：2）词数不少于 80。开头、

结尾已给出，不计入总词数：

3）文中不得出现真实姓名和学校。

Hello, everyone. I'm Peter from Class5, Grade8. Back to the life in the last year, I think I have changed a lot and made great progress in many ways.

Thanks for listening!