浙江省杭州市第十中学2022-2023学年九年级上学期期初模...

Chores

A museum worker found in Argentina a fossil (化石) of a kind of meat-eating dinosaur named Guemesia. It is the first time that this kind of dinosaur has been discovered. It, possibly a young one, lived about 7 million years ago before an steroid (小行星) hit the Earth, which killed about three -quarters of the Earth's species including the dinosaurs.

The fossil of the dinosaur was discovered in Argentina's northwestern Salta province. Researchers named the dinosaur Guemesia, which was taken from Argentine independence hero Martin Miguel de Guemes and the museum worker Javier Ochoa.

The dinosaur likely belongs to a group of meat-eating dinosaurs called abelisaurus. It walked on two legs and had only small and weak arms. The short arms may have forced Guemesia to depend on its powerful head to fight with its enemies. It's quite different from other meat-eating dinosaurs. So this allows us to understand that we're dealing with a totally new kind of dinosaur," said Federico Agnolin, the lead author of a study on the dinosaur and a researcher at Argentine national science council CONICET.

"We know it had a very sharp sense of smell and was short-sighted," said another researcher Alexander Lazarus. "It would have walked upright on its large feet, with its strong head leading the way. Some scientists think that could mean the animal hunted other animals with its head. "

According to other research and studies on dinosaurs, the abelisaurus lived in what is now Africa, South America and India. And before the finding of Guemesia, many fossils were dug up in Argentina—nearly all of them in southern Patagonia, far from Salta province. Therefore, researchers said that this discovery adds to Argentina's reputation (声誉) as a treasure trove (宝库)of fossils of dinosaurs.

A black cat crosses your path? That s bad luck. Walk under a ladder (梯子)? That's bad luck, too. Break a mirror seven years of bad luck! Kill a bee? You got it. . . bad luck!

But not everything brings bad luck. Some things bring good luck, too. For example, if you carry a rabbit's foot with you at all times -that will bring you good luck. Of course, nowadays, lucky rabbit's feet aren't made of real rabbit's feet. An acorn (橡子) in your pocket is good luck, too. If you make a wish when you see a shooting star cross the sky, the wish will come true.

If you throw rice on a just-married couple, they will have many children. If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will have good luck all year. If you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow, you will get whatever you want.

Are any of these things true? You may have blown out all the candles on your birthday cake in one blow last year, but did you get everything you wanted? Probably not. If you walk under a ladder and a bucket of paint falls on your head that's pretty bad luck. But if some candy or fruit falls, that's good luck.

In fact, good luck and bad luck are only"superstitions (迷信)”. Millions of people all over the world believe in superstitions, especially good luck ones. But remember, no amount of acorns is going to save you if you make your decisions because of silly superstitions.

You need some bread and milk. But half an hour later. you leave the supermarket with a trolley (手推车) full of food. What games do supermarkets play to make us spend so much money?

The tricks usually start before you walk in. Outside the supermarket entrance, anybody who walks past can smell warm, fresh bread. That makes us hungry and ready to buy lots of food, not just bread.

Now you're inside and, of course, a small basket would be fine, but all they have are trolleys. And of course the problem with a trolley is that it looks sad and lonely with just one or two products inside. So we may fill it with something. In fact, supermarket trolleys are actually getting bigger so that we buy more.

Of course, many people shop in supermarkets because they think everything is cheaper than in other shops. So supermarkets offer very cheap prices on some things but then have higher prices for other products. One new trick is to put red stickers on products. Customers usually connect red stickers with lower prices so the red sticker is easy to be noticed, even when there is no reduction! Interestingly, this trick appears to work more with men than with women.

There is a story behind the position of everything in the supermarket. For example, customers often go only to buy milk. So they put it right at the back, forcing you to go past hundreds of shelves full of other products. The position of products on each shelf is also important. The most expensive products are usually at eye-level so you see these immediately. The exception is anything that children might like. These products are on lower shelves so that kids see them.

Apart from what you see and smell in a supermarket, what about what you listen to? In most supermarkets they have soft, slow music. It's so relaxing that you slow down and spend more time (and money!) in the store. You also move more slowly when the supermarket is busy. Experts suggest it's better to shop when it's quieter, on a Monday or a Tuesday for example. And be careful with queues at the checkout. These are sometimes deliberate (故意), to make you buy something from the checkout shelves while you wait.

So, next time you go into your local supermarket, remember these tricks and see if you can come with just the things you went for.

We all want other people to like us. But perhaps more importantly in the workplace-we all want to be respected. Try some of the following ways, and you can make your colleagues like and respect you.

Is it the easiest way to get respect? Maybe yes. Don't spend your time worrying about getting respect. Instead, spend that time doing your job really, really well. Let others know that you are really good at what you do.

Don't be afraid to bring your ideas to the table. If it's an idea about a new thing, people will be glad that you think of ways to help the organization.

Being busy with work all the time won't make others like you very much. So take the time to ask people about their lives as well! Sometimes a simple "How are you?" can make someone feel good.

Whether it's taking a cup of coffee for your boss or getting some flowers for your colleague's desk, small acts like these can make others like you.

Keep them in mind. Get to know what they're doing on the weekend, their hobbies, and what they like. Then talking about them in conversation can be a good way to earn your brownie points (印象分). It shows that you really care about them.

There is a saying, "One man's trash (垃圾 )is another man's treasure. " It means I might1something and throw it away (扔) while someone might love it and take it. I once saw a homeless person searching trashcans to2something. So I asked him3he did that. He told the saying to me.4I didn't really understand it at that time.

This man lived in the5near my house. People around6bothered (打扰)him. I went running in the park one morning and saw him putting together a bed with stuff he had7from the trash. He only took clean stuff. If it had food trash on it, he would8although it's useful. So I took a blanket (毯子) to him. He felt 9and thanked me.

I remember one day the10came to him. They wanted to take away his stuff. The neighbors went to the police and told them that he wasn't hurting11by being there. The homeless man looked at every neighbor and thanked them, but told the police to take his "12" away. "I know you are just doing your13. Go ahead. "

When the police heard what he said, they decided to leave him alone. He has been there for a few years now. He has even started planting a14with lots of fruit trees and flowers. People often gave him food and other things he might15__. He has turned others' trash into his own treasure.

It's been two years since Mr. and Mrs. Green came to China. Their daughter, Susanna. (live) with them since last month. She knows very little about the country.

A: Mum, how much do you know about China?

B: A lot. China is great country. It has about 5,000 years of history. There are many places of interest which attract (吸引) (million) of tourists from all over the world every year. I once went to the Great Wall. It is (real) amazing. You need to go there sometime. There are usually too many people in the traveling season, people have to walk slowly to keep safe.

A: Is that so? Are there any beautiful mountains?

B: Yes. And some of them are very famous, such as Mount Tai, Mount Huang, Mount Song and Mount Emei.

A: What rivers?

B: There are a great number of (river) in China. Among them, the Yangtze River is the longest one and the second (long) is the Yellow River. They're the birthplaces of Chinese culture.

A: Anything else?

B: My dear. I think you should get to know about China by (you). I can bring you

Guide to China. It (introduce) China in detail. And also you can search online.

A: Thanks, Mum.