浙江省宁波市北仑区2022-2023学年九年级上学期英语期中...

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She didn't know if she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling(奋斗). It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new1 .

Her father who is a good cook, took her to the 2. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the3he placed eggs, and in the last he placed coffee beans. He let them boil, without4 a word.

The daughter waited impatiently, wondering 5 he was doing. In about twenty minutes, he 6the burners and put the carrots, the eggs and the coffee into different bowls. He asked, "Darling, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs and coffee." She 7.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She noticed that they were 8 . He then asked her to take an egg and break  9. After pulling off the shell, She observed (观察) the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. She enjoyed it and smiled.

"What does it mean, Farther?" she asked.

He explained that 10of them had faced the same situation, boiling water,11each reacted (反应)differently. The strong and hard carrots became soft and weak 12 being boiled. The fragile (脆弱) eggs became hard after cooking. Coffee beans were the most13 of the three. They turned the 14 into delicious coffee. "Which are you?" he asked his daughter.

When 15  knock on your door, how do you answer? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Join Us for a Day at Sun Valley Amusement Park

Children aged 10 to 14 are invited to take part in the "Event of the Summer" at Sun Valley Amusement Park, the most popular amusement park on the East Coast. Sun Valley has more than 80 amusement rides. For sports lovers, there are basketball courts, an indoor baseball field, and climbing walls.

No amusement park would be complete without a gift shop. Sun Valley has two. You won't want to miss out on this day of fun. Join us at Sun Valley Amusement Park on July 29. Register (登记) early.

●The cost of the trip is $ 40. This includes tickets and all rides.

●All children must bring lunch.

●Buses leave at 9: 00 a m. and return at 5: 00 p. m

●Rain Date: Wednesday, July 31.

For more information, call Jane Parks at 555-7267.

Everybody wants to be happy. Here is the advice given by psychologists (心理学家) Michael Mercer and Maryann Troiani for you to achieve happiness.

Take big steps while walking. "A super-fast way to improve your mood (心情) is simply to take big steps, walk faster, and stand tall," Troiani says. "However, unhappy people usually take small steps and walk slowly." So, if you want to change your mood, just change your steps.

Try to be far away from those who will influence and discourage you. "Unhappy people allow those people around them to influence them and lead them to a state of discouragement," says Troiani."These include people who put you down and laugh at your wishes and thoughts." So stay away from them, and you will have your own happiness.

Burn your bridges. "To move forward, burn your bridges behind you so you don't go backward," suggests Mercer. "Give up people, habits and situations that keep you from living a wonderful life. Remember, happy people often have personal cheerleaders as their friends."

Act like a madman sometimes. According to Troiani, "Happy people are sometimes like a madman on their own tasks. They spend much time and energy doing what they may find fun. But unhappy people aren't sure why they should put their heart into it. So, find what makes you excited and spend your time going for it."

So, try these suggestions above by yourself, and you'll surely find that you will be happy, you can be happy and you are happy.

When our son Mario was eleven, the new bicycle he had received earlier that year was stolen. Owning a bicycle was a big deal to our children when they were little. They spent hours and hours, day after day, on their bicycles, at the front of the house. Bicycling was a great way to get the kids out of the house and into the fresh air without spending any money.

Mario had discovered that his bicycle had been stolen from our backyard. He and his sister often went outside for a morning ride. He couldn't believe that someone would do this.

He got a large piece of cardboard, painted a sign for the bicycle to be returned, and tied the sign to the letterbox. The next morning, when I went out to collect the mail, I found a white envelope with the magical words," Buy yourself a new bicycle". There was a $100 banknote inside.

We were very touched that someone had the heart to do this. We've never been able to thank the person but we guess that it may have been one of our wonderful neighbors. Mario painted a big"       !" on the sign and we left it outside for a couple of weeks afterwards, hoping the kind stranger would drive down our street.

A delighted Mario was able to buy a new bicycle. As the years went on, the bicycles became bigger and more expensive but remained just as important for those family bicycle rides. Now Mario is 25. Sometimes I miss the days when receiving a bicycle. It was the best thing in the world to them.

All these years later we are still thankful for the stranger's kindness. We were a young family with three little children and it meant a lot to us. We still talk about it and, even now, wonder who the kind stranger was.

Everyone faces difficulties in their life. Daniel Kish was born with a special eye illness and lost his eyesight when he was only 14 months old.

Soon after, however, he started to do an amazing thing. He learned to make clicks (咔哒声) with his tongue (舌头) to help him move around. Kish now moves about using sonar (唢呐). He is so good at it that he can ride a bicycle by himself on public roads. And he started the organization World Access for the Blind (WAFTB) in 2000, teaching others how to use sonar. In the interview with National Geographic, he explains how the sonar works.

"When I make a click sound，it produces sound waves. These waves reflect (反射) off surfaces around and return to my ears. My brain then deals with the sound and turns it into pictures in my mind. Each click is like a camera flash, which helps me make a 3-D picture of my surroundings for hundreds of feet. It's like having a conversation with the environment."

Kish feels it is exciting to ride a bike using sonar, although he needs to click twice a sound, much more than he usually does. "It may sound a bit dangerous to move around the world in this way," he says. "But most people in the world live in fear of things that they imagine. I love hiking and mountain-biking. I go almost everywhere. And I've never had an accident and hurt myself."

He is happy to be able to help more blind children to improve their life. "We've served over 10,000 students in nearly 40 countries," he tells the reporter. "Many students are surprised how quickly results come. Seeing isn't in the eyes. It's in the mind."

Julie: I find it difficult to sort trash correctly.

Kathy: I want to lose weight to make myself look cool.

Mark: I pick up my phone from time to time when I'm doing my homework.

Allen: I stay up late so that I can't get out of my bed easily next morning.

Paul: I like traveling and want to record my life and share it with friends.

Li Wen is a 15-year-old boy from the countryside. He to work very hard and he seldom caused any problems. However, his parents moved to the city to look for jobs. So he often felt lonely and unhappy. Gradually, his unhappinesshis schoolwork. He became less interested in studying. Sometimes he wasfrom classes and failed his examinations. His teacher advised his parents to communicate with himperson. Finally, Li Wen realized that his parents would takein everything good that he did. From then on, he became more outgoing and active because he knew his parents were always there for him.

When I was a little girl, I was very shy and unconfident. I used to be afraid of   (speak) in public, so I always kept quiet in class. I never answered the teachers' questions. I just listened to them (quiet).

, one day, things changed. I listened to my Chinese teacher Ms. Song carefully  usual. Suddenly, she asked the whole class  question which was quite easy. Ms. Song looked around, and then her eyes were on me. She asked me (answer) it. Feeling nervous, I stood up slowly and was  (able) to say a word. "Come on! Believe in (you). You are the best!" said Ms. Song. I looked at Ms. Song in the eyes, and I could feel her encouragements. I (take) courage from it and answered the question correctly. Ms. Song gave me a big smile and so did my (classmate). From then on, I started to answer the teachers' questions in class.

Since then, whenever I meet challenges, I always say to myself, "You're the best."

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3）词数 80-100；

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Great Changes in My Growth

As time goes by, I am not the little kid any more. I am quite different from what I used to be.

In the past,