Mandy's family lived in a small village. They had a hard but happy life. Mandy was never lonely,1 many children played on the hill behind their house.
But one winter, Mandy fell ill. Her parents were too 2 to pay for the medicine. Mandy had to sit by the window, watching her friends outside.
One day, a spider(蜘蛛) came and began to spin(结网) down next to her. When Mom came in, she noticed the3 too." Please get out!"
" No, she is my friend. Please let her stay. Look! She's spinning 4 me."
How thankful the spider was!5 came. The family started to decorate(装饰) the tree. Mom prepared some eggs and Mandy started to paint on them. But after a while, she was tired. Mom helped her finish the 6 and hung them on the tree. Dad found some pieces of wood and cut a few stars, but without Mandy, it didn't feel the same 7 .
When the family were asleep, the spider began to 8 . She spun down to the floor, then carefully climbed every branch(树枝), leaving her web s behind.9 , she reached the top of the tree.
Before long, the 10 air blew under the door and turned the gray webs to silver—— real silver.
" Look! It's real silver!" Mandy was very 11 ." The best Christmas gift for me!"
" How is this possible?" Mom and Dad were also amazed at the 12 .
Mandy looked up at the web," It must be 13 spider friend. Thank you!"
The next day, Dad took the silver to exchange for coins. They were enough to pay for Mandy's14 . Two weeks later, Mandy was on the hill,15 with her friends again.
Do you love a good picnic? Do you know different cultures about picnics around the world? Now join us on a picnicking tour.
France The word" picnic" comes from the French. Picnicking became popular over 200 years ago in France. Today people in France like to picnic by the Seine River, or in front of the Eiffel Tower. And they' ll probably enjoy a baguette with cheese! |
Sweden People in Sweden like to have picnics all year round. And many even have an outdoor meal in the cold weather. People stay warm by taking breaks by the fire and drinking warm drinks. They eat the bread called lussekatter. |
Argentina In Argentina, picnics are all about grilling(烤) meat over an open fire. This activity is called asado, and it includes music and dancing. Asados are especially popular during the holiday season, with many enjoying Christmas celebrations over a picnic. |
India Indians will have a day- long picnic if the weather is fine. They usually picnic by the river. After eating traditional foods like samosas, many take a mud bath in the river! That's because they think the mud bath is helpful for keeping healthy. |
B . 
C . 
D . 
At the corner of Jan Smuts Street in Durban, six women meet every day, waiting for a truck to come and get the cardboard (纸板) they have collected.
Every morning Chitha leaves her house at 5 a. m. to collect cardboard. She has been doing this for the past 12 years. She says her dream is to see her children go to college. Then she found this job.
" It's dirty and people look down on us. We only make about R3, 400 a month. However, this is a ticket for us to send our children to college." Chitha said with a big smile. She added that she found great joy knowing her daughter is in college.
" We have a slogan(口号) —— Keep on going and never give up." Chitha continued." We don't just sit here waiting for the truck to come. We also talk about life, give advice about problems and help each other. We are a family here."
" We are all single mothers and have to make money to raise our children. I'm collecting this dirty cardboard for my three children to have a brighter future. I will continue until the last one also goes to college."
Chitha's daughter Naledi is now in her second year at a college. She said with tears in her eyes," Mom is doing all she can to survive (生存). I admire her for that."
raise v.
①to lift or move sth to a higher level
②to bring or collect money or people together
③to mention sth for people to discuss or sb to deal with
④to care for a child or young animal until it is able to take care of itself
①There is a saying," You are what you eat." How about, you are what you read? Many people believe reading can shape your identity(身份).
②Your identity is who or what you are and what you do. Books, magazines or even websites you often read or visit change the way you think and what you believe in, then decide the things you do.
③For example, an 8- year- old boy has read that throwing rubbish about is polluting and killing the earth, then he will believe it is bad and won't do it again. This is the message he' ll share with the people around him. And they will see him as someone who loves the earth. This becomes part of his identity—— an earth- lover.
④Research has shown that reading also changes the way you interact with (相互影响) people around you. Reading stories helps you imagine and understand situations and others better. You will be more open- minded, less self- centered and more caring. People may see you as someone who is warm- hearted, and that becomes part of your identity.
⑤It is important to read as it can shape your identity. Reading different kinds of books can help you become what you want to be. Read biographies(传记) of people who encourages you if you want to be more like them. If you want to be a creative writer, read more fiction books. If you want to be a songwriter, read more poetry!
⑥So, go on! Pick up a book today and read! A new YOU is waiting for you!
B . 
C . 
D . 
For most human history, the stars sh one brightly in a dark night sky. But today, with many man- made lights, it is difficult for us to watch some wonderful sights: stars, planets and even galaxies(星系). This is in fact a kind of light pollution.
According to scientific research, you can see about 2,500 stars without using any special tools. But because of light pollution, you can only see 200 to 300 stars from the countryside, and no more than 10 stars from a city. In most big cities, people cannot see stars like they did in their childhood.
The main reasons of more brightness of the night sky are industrialization(工业化) and the growing use of outdoor LEDs, which are much brighter than traditional lighting. It brings a lot of bad results. Scientists find it hard to see the stars and planets. And too much light might make birds lose their ways at night. Some insects(昆虫) often fly towards light and may knock into buildings and lose lives. Sometimes light pollution makes us have sleeping problems.
Small actions, big changes. To stop things from going worse, we should use the right amount(数量) of light, in the right place and at the right time. Using yellow- colored light instead of white light, shining lights down at the ground instead of up into the sky are also helpful. We'd better remind people around us to help cut down light pollution as well.
Hopefully, in the near future, humans can enjoy the beauty of the night sky again and all wildlife will live a peaceful life!
① Scientists see stars clearly. ② Birds get lost easily.
③Many insects may die. ④Some people feel sick.
Do you feel Grade 9 is still far away? The earlier you prepare for it, the easier it will be. Here are some useful suggestions that can help you better prepared.
Stay organized
Why not spend 5-10 minutes making a to- do- list at the beginning of the day? You will see clearly on the list about new lessons.
It's normal for students to have problems. Some students are afraid to ask for help. If you have problems, learn to talk to the people around you—— teachers, friends, parents. They will surely be glad to give you a hand.
Reduce stress
Every day, you will find yourself busy with schoolwork, especially in Grade 9. We still need to have fun and reduce stress in healthy ways. You can do exercise or listen to music.
Set your goal
When you have a goal, it will be more possible for you to face difficulties bravely. You can ask yourself," Which high school would I like to go?" or" What do I want to be?"
A. Ask for help. B. It is important to get good grades. C. However, life shouldn't just be about schoolwork. D. It will help you organize your time of schoolwork well. E. Goals can help you understand why you must work hard. |
What else can you do to prepare for Grade 9?( about 10 words)
sign, bamboo, thousand, alone, dynasty |
River and Snow Liu Zongyuan ( Tang ) From of mountains, all birds vanish far or near, On all roads no of man is found here. Only an old man with palm- bar k cape and hat, Fishing in the snowy river he sat. |
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China's new hit TV show To the Wonder(《我的阿勒泰》) has made Altay a popular place (在其中) young people. Altay (属于) to Xinjiang and it's like a place out of this world. (不管) you are a nature lover or a culture lover, it really has something for everyone.
This TV show tells the story of Li Wenxiu, a young woman from Altay. She didn't (成功) in becoming a writer, and (返回) to Altay to live with her mother. She then found the meaning of life and her love in her (家乡).
" Once we' ve seen the world and met our material needs, we started to look inside (我们自己), to search for a sense of peace and satisfaction and to (领会; 认识到) our self- worth(自我价值)," Teng Congcong, director of the TV show, told New Weekly magazine.
Since the TV show came out on May 7, tourism has (发展) rapidly in Altay. Many tourists want to go to this (有魔力的) place, enjoying the beautiful views.
One day, Zhou Yu ordered Zhuge Liang to make 100,000 arrows(箭) in ten days." Give me three days," said Zhuge. Zhou thought Zhuge was ( trouble) himself. He told his soldiers not to provide things Zhuge. Zhuge asked Lu Su to lend ( he) twenty boats full of scarecrows(稻草人) with thirty soldiers in each.
In the early morning of the ( three) day, Zhuge ordered that the twenty boats should be tied together. He asked Lu for boat ride and then headed for Cao Cao's camp. When the boats got much ( close) to the camp, Zhuge let his soldiers shout out they were beating the drums.
Cao Cao heard their sounds and ordered," Shoot arrows at them as quickly as possible." Soon, the scarecrows on both ( side) of the boats were full of arrows. When the day broke, with ( excite), Zhuge and his soldiers rowed back to their camp. They collected more than100,000 arrows.
This story teaches us about the importance of teamwork and encourages us ( use) our heads to face challenges creatively.
Dear Li Hua, How's everything going? Recently I' ve seen some pictures about the mental health(心理健康) activities on your school website. I'm very interested in them. So could you please introduce two of them? And let me know your opinions. Looking forward to your reply. Yours, Alex |
注意：
（1）邮件中不得出现真实的人名、校名等相关信息；
（2）词数80-100， 邮件的开头已给出， 不计入总词数；
（3）可适当增加细节， 使行文连贯， 参考词汇仅供选择使用。
Dear Alex,
Glad to receive your email.
Yours,
Li Hua
