浙江省宁波市慈溪市2022-2023学年九年级上学期英语期中...

A few years ago, I had a wonderful Christmas experience that finally changed how I celebrate the festival. Now I've decided to 1 it with all of you. Before that Christmas, I was running around like a crazy person to get 2 ready. One day I took my three little kids to Walmart to buy the last things for them the next day. I was 3 and kept thinking to myself, "What is the true 4 of Christmas?"

  When I finished 5 and was walking towards the exit, I noticed an old man sitting on the bench with an envelope in his hand. He handed something to a(n) 6, well-dressed man and said, "Merry Christmas!" It was a $20 bill. The young man got a(n) 7 and asked, "Are you serious?" "Yes, Merry Christmas," he replied. So the young man got the money and left 8. "What's he doing?" I was more puzzled 9 I saw him giving more bills to some other shoppers. Just then, he 10 and walked over to me. Then he pulled a $50 bill 11 his envelop and handed it to me, saying "Merry Christmas!"

  My face turned red and said, "Sir, I don't need 12 dollars." "Well, then," he smiled and said, "Find someone who does, Merry Christmas." And he left smiling. What a 13 man he was and how many people he helped out that day! All of a sudden, for the 14 time I felt the real Christmas spirit. And I decided I'd spread his spirit and find someone who 15 that $50. From then on, I was used to teaching my kids about love and kindness and letting them feel the spirit the Christmas season can bring. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here are some questions and answers on Yangzhou, an old and cultural city in Jangsu Province from a website.

Questions & Answers

Before you read this story, let's take a look at a sentence in Chinese, "研表究明，汉字序顺并不定一影阅响读。" Did you notice that some of the characters in this sentence are in the wrong order? You might not realize it, but your brain can read and understand most sentences, even when the words are in the wrong order.

This may have something to do with psychology, according to Chen Qingrong from Nanjing Normal University.

When we're first learning how to read, we read word by word. But after we become more experienced, we read in full phrases and even sentences. People can read five to six words at one time, Chen told the Yangtse Evening Post. Also, as experienced readers, we take the things we're familiar with for granted. We don't pay much attention to small details, such as word order.

Therefore, when we read the sentence at the beginning of this article, the content was familiar to us. So we read it the way we think it should be in our memory, with all the words in the right order. This is like when we see a person with long hair, we assume (认为) the person is a girl without taking a closer look according to Chen.

This can be also seen in many other languages, such as English. Read the following sentence, "This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe."

It is believed that humans remember the meanings of words mostly by their shape and layout, rather than the order of the letters, Matt Davis of Cambridge University told the Independent.

However, we cannot read scrambled (乱序的) sentences as quickly and efficiently as we read the normal text, according to Daily Telegraph.

Vacation is coming to an end. How many of you have burned the midnight oil to finish your homework over the last few days? What about during the school year-when you get home from school, do you start working on your homework right away?

It can be hard to be this responsible. A lot of people usually put off difficult or annoying tasks until they have to be done. They're called procrastinators.

Procrastination is a common problem for many people, in fact. Sometimes it just feels easier to wait until the last minute to do certain things. However, this is not a good thing, as you have to work harder and faster if you wait until there is little time left. This means your work will probably be of less quality.

I myself am a bit of a procrastinator. But most of the time, I try to finish my work earlier rather than later. It just makes more sense-if I finish my work now, I'll have more time to relax or work on other projects later. It can be hard to motivate (激励) myself to get started sometimes. But once I do, the work gets done quickly and with little stress.

Everyone procrastinates from time to time. It's a natural thing to do. You don't have to beat yourself up over it-after all, we still need time to relax and take a break from our busy lives. Just make sure you still get your homework done on time!

"BANG!" the door caused a reverberation (回声). It was just standing there, with Father standing on one side, and I on the other side.

We were both in great anger. "Jack! Never set foot in this house again!" shouted Father. With tears in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.

The street lights were shining, causing my feeling of sadness. I walked about, knowing nowhere to go.

A young father who held a child in his arm walked past me. I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree (与忧无虑).

But now…I don't know whether it is because I have grown up or because Dad is getting old. We are just like two persons coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened. I walked in the streets. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. I walked on. There were fewer and fewer people on the streets. When I finally reached the apartment block in which I lived, I saw that light was still on.

I thought to myself, "Is father waiting for me or is he still angry with me?"

In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, Dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.

All the lights were off except Father's.

Dad was always like this. Maybe he didn't know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any moments of regret. However, after an argument he has the habit of tucking me in while I am sleeping. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature.

The light was still on. "Am I wrong?" With the key in hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that iron door that I have imagined between us did not exist at all. Love-it is second to none.

Doing stretching(伸展)exercises after running can help you a lot. You shouldn't feel any pain when doing these exercises. If you do, stop and ask for doctors' advice. Here are some of the exercises we can do:

A.  B.  C.  D.

keep your back leg straight, slowly bend (弯曲) your front leg and push your right buttock(屁股)forward until you feel a stretch across the front of your right hip joint (臀部关节).

Put the top of your left foot behind you and pull your heel (脚后跟) towards your left buttock.

Stand with your right leg just in front of the other and your hands on your hips. Keep your right leg straight and toes pointing up, and bend your left leg. Bend towards your right leg, keeping your back straight.

Cross your right leg behind your left leg. Keep both feet on the ground, lean (倾斜) to your left side and push your right hip outwards. Don't bend forward.

完成问题:If you feel pain when doing these exercises, you should .

A. ask parents for help         B. keep exercising

C. go to the hospital          D. never do them in the future

Cheong San-chee was born to a Korean and a Chinese mother. She got her Chinese name from her father, who loves Chinese culture. "Chee" was a compliment for girls in  times.

As a big fan of Confucianism (儒家思想), her father would share ideas of Confucius in daily life. If she had trouble  her homework when she was a child, her father would say to her, " you don't have to finish your homework, you must be honest."

"The older I get, the more I think my father's words are true.  Chinese culture seems to be very far away from us, but it is reflected in our life," Cheong said.

Cheong thinks many South Korean people also like to learn Chinese and make Chinese friends. Now the visa (签证) process is open again, more people from China and South Korea have to chance to  offline.

Trumpets (小号) are very popular in the world. They have been around for (hundred) of years. People can play all types of music on the trumpet. They are  type of wind instrument. A wind instrument makes sounds when a (play) blows into it. There are many types of wind instruments. A trumpet belongs to the brass instrument (铜管乐器) family.

can you learn more about the differences between a brass instrument and other instruments? The Carol Brass Tourism Factory is the best place.

The guide will show you  the museum when you visit the Carol Brass Tourism Factory. There are so many types  you won't have problems finding what you want.

But visitors also want to learn how brass instruments (make). There is a walkway at the Carol Brass Tourism Factory. When you walk along it, you can clearly see each step it takes (create) a beautiful brass instrument.

Workers take metal pieces and make (they) into all the parts of a brass instrument at the first station. Then the parts are put together. Next, workers make the instruments look beautiful. At last, workers make sure every instrument is perfect and people can buy them and play music(beautiful) on them. How amazing they are!

提示词：be careful (小心)，go bad (变质)

要求：1）必须包含所给的全部要点及内容，可适当发挥。

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3）词数：80-100词。

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