浙江省绍兴区柯桥区联盟2022-2023学年八年级下学期期中...

Mary is 99. Benjamin is 2. They may seem like unlikely friends. But during the pandemic (流行病)，they have 1 a special relationship.

"We've been neighbors with Mary long before Benjamin was born," Benjamin's mom, Sarah said. "Last year when the pandemic hit, we had to 2 at home. Mary was someone we could see outside."

Because of the pandemic, the family started playing in the yard more, and Mary would be in hers. 3 Benjamin grew over the year, he started to play with Mary more. He would run over to Mary and bring her a ball when he saw her in the yard. Mary even created a new 4 called Ping Ball. In the game, Benjamin 5 her the ball and she reaches her stick over the fence and hits it back to Benjamin.

There's a 97-year age gap (差距)，but Benjamin doesn't see it. For Benjamin, Mary is just his friend. For Mary who lives 6 , a friend is also what she needs. It seems Mary has 7 a childlike (童稚的) spirit again with Benjamin. She even plays with bubbles and even water guns.

More than a year after they first started playing together, Benjamin and Mary still 8 each other's company (陪伴).

"9 can just happen in so many different ways. I'm just really happy they were able to form this relationship. It means a lot to both of them." Sarah said. "I believe my son and neighbor's story resonates (引起共鸣）with many people, because people like to see relationship form so 10 for children and old people."

School life isn't always happy and colorful. There are also "dark" corners there. Bullying (霸凌) is one of them.

Xi Zi, 20, from Guangdong, had been bullied in school for around 10 years. Some made fun of her clothes and her weight. Her roommates called her a thief(小偷). Her classmates spread rumors (谣言) about her and then no one wanted to play with her.

These experiences made her quiet and self-doubting. But actually it was not her fault. In 2018, Xi Zi was diagnosed (诊断) with Asperger's syndrome(阿斯伯格综合征). This condition gives people difficulties in social communication. Children with this condition are more likely to be left out.

Luckily, Xi Zi finally found a way to help herself and others in her situation. She made her experiences into a role-playing board game, The Choice of Transfer Students. Players can choose to be one of three characters—the bully, the bullied one or the onlooker(旁观者). They will experience many bullying situations and their different actions or words will lead to different results. In this way, players see what bullying can do to people. Hopefully they can choose to do the right thing when facing similar situations.

Xi Zi hoped that speaking out about her experiences would help bullied children to be seen and heard. "I hope they know that in the face of bullying, we have the ability to fight back," said Xi Zi.

According to UNICEF(联合国儿童基金会), over a third of students aged 13 to 15 all over the world have experienced bullying. Among them, those who are left out are more likely to be bullied. This includes students with disabilities. To solve this problem, we need all-round education. On the one hand, special children need more attention(注意). On the other hand, parents, teachers and schools should all shoulder(承担) the responsibility of stopping bullying in schools.

A woman who couldn't feel hungry after a stroke (中风) may help us improve our understanding of one area of the brain.

The 28-year-old Canadian was in hospital after feeling weak on one side of her body and having trouble speaking. The examination result showed that she had a stroke in a brain area called the insula (脑岛).

Soon after the stroke, the woman noticed that she never felt hungry anymore, even when she hadn't eaten for a long time. She often forgot to eat and lost more than 10 kilograms.

The woman could still taste and smell the food, but often ate about half as much as usual because she no longer enjoyed eating. Even chocolate, her favorite food, gave her no joy. The woman's hunger finally came back about 12 months after the stroke.

The insula is one of the least understood parts of the brain. It works with other parts of the brain to make a feeling of hunger that encourages eating. "This woman's brain would still have been receiving signals(信号) that she was missing calories, but because of the damage (损伤) to her insula, she wouldn't have noticed them," says Yoav Livneh at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

This finding could help to find new ways to treat obesity (肥胖). For example, it may be possible to use some ways to send signals to the insula to prevent overeating, Livneh says. He agrees that this is a possibility, but says it will be more important not to damage the insula's other functions (功能).

I work in a cleaning company(公司). Usually people call us, and we (提供) them with house cleaning service.

One day, I got a call from a man called David. "I want to help an old man. He just had surgery(手术) and is still ill. Can I pay for it without letting him know?" he asked. David was a very kind man. He called us because he was worried about his neighbor. Mr. Smith just came back from the hospital. His house was in a (杂乱), but he couldn't do any housework. Even (扫) the floor was difficult for him. He didn't tell his (孩子) because he didn't want them to waste their time taking (照顾) of him. David wanted to help Mr. Smith without bringing him any (心理负担). And then we asked David what would happen if Mr. Smith (拒绝) to let us come into his house. "I have to at least try, and (而且; 加之), I really want to help him," he said.

Luckily, Mr. Smith let us in and our workers did a good job. (既然) we promised David not to tell his name, we didn't tell too much to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was touched by the gift from someone he didn't know.

Sometimes we don't expect to (依靠) on others, because we are afraid of letting them get into trouble. However, there is always someone who tries his best to help you.

I often hear some students say English is difficult, and it gives them a headache. So they can't learn it well. But English is very easy for me. I'm good it. I'm very glad to tell you something about how I study English now.

Firstly, I think an interest in English is very important. When I was in Grade One, we had a new subject—English. It was fresh for me. I was (interest) in it, so I worked hard at it. Soon we had an English exam and I got good grades. How happy I was! After that, I learned English harder and harder. Our English teacher often teaches us English songs, the songs sound nice. I often think how interesting English is!

  (two), I think English is a foreign language. I should learn it well in the following ways: Listen to the teacher carefully, speak (brave), read aloud and have a good vocabulary (词汇). Then practice again and again, never be tired. And I also have good habit: Asking whenever I have a question, I must make it clear by (ask) our English teacher. How happy I am when I understand!

Lastly, I often read English (story), jokes and easy novels. From these I know English is not only interesting, but also useful. They help me understand a lot of things. reading is an important way to learn English well. And I also do some exercises from our class magazines, and I often write English diaries. English has become a close friend of (I).

I (begin) learning English two years ago. I always keep the first position in our school. From these words, I hope every student can learn English well.

Because of COVID-19, people may have bad feelings, such as sadness, anxiety(焦虑) and fear. Helping yourself and your family members keep a positive attitude will be very important for everyone to get through this difficult period. Below are four ways to keep your body and mind strong.

● Recognize and accept your feelings.

 When you stay at home for a long time, it is normal to feel upset or nervous. The first step is to recognize and accept these feelings. . Don't hide your feelings. Accepting your feelings can actually help you manage them.

●     

Keep a balanced diet and follow a daily routine(惯例).People who stay at home for a long time may easily have their routine turned upside down. Some people may stay up late at night and fail to get up during the day. Sleep is important for your personal health. .

●Exercise regularly.

Physical exercise is also an effective way to reduce anxiety. Even a small amount of physical exercise can immediately make you feel better. And it works for people of all ages. At this time, you probably could not do outdoor exercise. . If you need exercise tips, try downloading an app or find them online.

●Talk to someone.

. If our need to socialize(社交)is not met, it may lead to bad feelings. Fortunately, it is easy to connect with relatives and friends. Call someone or send a private message on WeChat.
 

注意：1.要点齐全，书写整齐：2.你的建议至少补充2条，建议合理：3.不得出现真实的学校和姓名：4.词数80左右，所给首句不计入总词数。

We did a survey about teenagers' problems last week.