浙江省乐清英华学校2022-2023学年八年级上学期英语期中...

I am an overseas traveler. I work in England now. But I really miss my hometown, Yueqing. Do you hear about Yueqing? It is a small but beautiful town. Seventeen years after leaving it, I decided1it last week. I found that it was not the same as before.

When I left the town in 2005, there were only2small shops in my home town. Now there is a big supermarket in the south of the town. People can buy many cheaper things there. There wasn't a movie theatre3I left the town, but near the supermarket, there is a big movie theatre now. It has very big screens and comfortable seats. People can see great films there.

In the north of the town, there was4old and small library, but it is big and beautiful now. And there are more books and magazines in it than before. My neighbors say they go to the library at least5a week. Sometimes, there are reading competitions in the library. The6can get some books as prizes.

In the center of the town, there are lots of flowers and trees on7sides of the streets. There are also many restaurants. I tried different kinds of food. Lao Wu Chinese Restaurant is the best restaurant in town, I think.8it has the most delicious food. There is also a good dumpling house. It always9people great service.

My home town is pretty beautiful now. I think I should also play a role in making it become10.

A teahouse or tearoom is a place for drinking tea. But the teahouses are different in different countries because of their different cultures.

In China, a teahouse is traditionally like the American "café". People go to teahouses to chat with friends, make friends, and enjoy tea. Young people often meet at teahouses for dates. The Guangdong style teahouses are very famous in China and in the world. These teahouses not only offer tea, but also dim sum, so people can eat different kinds of food when they drink tea. People call these kinds of teahouses "chalou".

In Japan, a teahouse means a place for holding Japanese tea ceremonies. Many Japanese teahouses are really traditional and only the people who have been invited can enter them.

In Tajikistan, there are also many teahouses. Tajikistan is a small country in the middle of Asia. In this country, the largest teahouses are usually Chinese style teahouses. Lots of people like drinking tea there.

In Egypt, teahouses are usually called coffee houses. People can drink coffee as well as tea and tisane. Tisane is highly popular in Egypt.

In the UK, Canada and the US, a tearoom is a small room or restaurant where people can have light meals. A customer might expect to receive cream tea, which is also a kind of afternoon tea.

Do you know Su Bingtian? He is a Chinese runner. He was born in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province on August 20th, 1989.

Known as China's fastest man, Su Bingtian made history and brought an unforgettable moment to the world in the summer of 2021. On Aug 1, Su set a new record of 9. 83 seconds at the Tokyo Olympics Men's 100m semifinals, which made him the first Chinese runner to enter the event's final round.

For a long time, some people thought that Asian people were not physically built for sprinting. Su's success shows it's not true.

However, it was not easy for Su to succeed. Because of being hurt, Su had to stop running for several years. Later, he came back to the track and trained even harder than before.

He realized that finishing the semifinal in less than 10 seconds would earn him a chance to enter the final competition. To encourage himself, Su set a personal goal of 9. 89 seconds in 2012. He even made this number his password for his phone and computer. Luckily, his efforts paid off.

On March 3rd, 2022, he was honored in annual Touching China awards. "I am so proud of my result. I can write my name into history now and I will work harder and run faster. I hope my performance today will encourage more people."

Now let's congratulate to Su Bingtian! We hope Su Bingtian will have a better future and good luck to him!

On which Western holiday can you play tricks on others? Do you like this idea? Why or why not? The other day, a student wrote to me with a question:

This was my answer to her question:

Dear Cathy,

First, take a deep breath. Remember that you're still in school. This teasing is just a part of growing up.

You also say they make you angry. I remember a time that I got angry. When I was 11, one day, some older kids took the hat off of my head. They played keep-away, throwing it to their friends whenever I got close. I was so angry! I ran after them, but they were too big and too fast. The angrier I became, the more they laughed at me. Then I understood. I stopped running. I walked away without saying a word. Guess what? They brought me my hat at once. One of the boys even said sorry.

Don't play their stupid game. Don't get angry. That's what they enjoy the most. It's their power when they tease you.

You can take away their power. When they laugh at you, laugh back and say, "So what?" I can't promise that nobody will ever tease you again. But you have shown them that their ideas don't matter.

- Daniel

My name is Zhou Yiwei. I'm from Dongguan, a beautiful city in the (南方)of Guangdong province. I can't(忘记)October 12th, a big day for me and my team. We took part in the basketball match in order to (筹集)money for the animals in(危险).

We lost some players before the basketball match because some of my classmates had to take an important exam, so there was no substitute for us. The team we played (对，对抗)was last year's top team, which is more famous than our team. I played hard and carefully. But later, I got (受伤)because someone elbowed me. I stopped to have a rest and felt better after a few minutes. My coach came to give me some suggestions. He told me to "play hard but smart". I saved my strength and looked for good (机会)to score more points. I scored four more points and we (打败)the other team in the(末尾，最后).

After the match, I was named "the (最好的)player". I can't wait to play more in the future.

Dear Abby,

How are you? Today I've got （exciting） news to tell you. Last monthuniversity in Australia (offer） me a scholarship for my further education. One hundred and twenty students took exam for it, but only a  students got the scholarship and I was one of them. I am so excited that I can't sleep. , my parents are(worry） about it. They say it is so far away that they will not see me for a whole year and they are afraid I will feel lonely. They can't allow such a young girl  (live) alone. They give me some (advice), and tell me to study in my hometown. Then I'll be to live with them.

But I'm unhappy. Because I have grown up. I still want to go to Australia. How can I persuade to agree with me?

Best wishes,

Jane

小词典

Dear classmates,

I'm glad to be here. My topic today is caring for our health.

That's all. Thank you very much.