浙江省诸暨市海亮外国语学校2016届九年级上学期英语期中考试...

    Three soldiers were on their way home from the war. They arrived at a small village, they were very tired and 1 but they had no food or money. The only thing they did have was a cooking pot(锅).

    The soldiers built a small cooking fire, 2 their pot on it, and poured in some water. When a few villagers asked what they were doing, one of the soldiers answered that he was making stone soup. A few more villagers walking by stopped to 3 what was going on when they heard about it.

    "Any soup needs salt and pepper," the first soldier said, 4 some children ran to fetch salt and pepper. "Stones can be used to prepare good soup, but tomatoes would 5 it so much better," the second soldier added. One woman said, "Why, I think I have a tomato or two! "She ran to get the tomatoes.

    "Some cabbage would be a proper choice for a good stone soup! "said the third soldier. Another woman said, "I think I can probably find some cabbage," and she ran 6.

    "If only we had a bit of beef and some potatoes, this soup would be fit for a rich man's 7." The villagers thought it over, then ran to fetch what they had in their homes. A rich man's soup, and all from a few stones! It seemed like 8!

    The soldiers said, "If only we had a little milk, this soup would be fit for a king!" And so other villagers 9 to get some milk.

    "The soup is ready," said the cooks, "and all will 10 it, but first we need to set the tables." Some of the villagers said, "Such a great soup would be better 11 some bread and cakes," so they brought the 12 two things and the meal was 13 by all. Never had there been such a 14 meal. Never had the villagers had such delicious soup, and all made from stones! They ate and drank and danced well into the night.

    In the morning, the villagers gathered to say goodbye. "Many thanks to you," they said, "for we shall 15 go hungry now that we have learned how to make soup from stones."

A

    The founder of Apple Steve Jobs was one of the fathers of the personal computing time. Here are some of his greatest inventions.

B

    Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable (一次性的) toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don't have to bring their own. But, if you travel to Beijing, remember to bring your own things. Starting from June, some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use less disposable things.

    Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources (资源) and is very bad for the environment. Do you know, one Chinese person makes as much as 400kg of waste a year! Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing, people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down. So the less plastic we throw out, the better. So, wherever you travel, bring your own things and use them again and again.

    Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place. Try to do these things in your daily life: Use cloth shopping bags, not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag, wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school canteen（食堂）, use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.

C

    One little miracle (奇迹) has been happening to me recently, and it gives me a special joy.

    A few months ago, I was telling my daughter, Sally, some stories about my mother. My daughter was so young when my mother died that she doesn't remember her well. I told her all I could remember, like how wonderful my mother was and how much she meant to me.

    One day, Sally was sad because her grandmother was in heaven (天堂) and she couldn't see her. I explained that though her grandmother was dead, now she was still watching over us and could send us something to let us know she was there. She could be anywhere, even riding invisibly (看不见地) on the back of a butterfly (蝴蝶). Just after I said this, a butterfly flew down right by us, and we laughed happily.

    Now many people would say it was just luck that the butterfly flew down at that time. A funny thing, however, has happened since then. Every time I go out in any type of weather I see butterflies. Very often they fly right by my face to get my attention. I always say hi to Mom, send her my love, and thank God for little miracles.

    Everyone is always looking for some big miracles to come out and save them when they are in trouble, but they don't notice the little miracles that happen every day right in front of their eyes. I know what they really are, however. For me little miracles are the best kind. So many little miracles happen around me all the time that I know they are not just luck.

D

    Do you have a lucky number? What is it? Many people have a special number. They hope it will bring them good luck.

    In Chinese culture, people believe some numbers are lucky or unlucky. This is based on the Chinese word that the number sounds similar to. 

    For example, the Chinese word for the number 8 sounds like the word for "making a fortune". So, people consider it a very lucky number. Some people spend a lot of money to have 8s in their phone numbers or vehicle license plate (车牌照) numbers. The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics began at 8:08 pm on August 8, 2008.

    The number 9 is also a lucky number because of its connection to the emperors (皇帝) of China. There were nine dragons on emperors' robes (龙袍). Today, 9 often stands for "long lasting". That's why a man always proposes to (向…求婚) a woman with 99 or 999 roses.

    So what's a "bad luck" number in China? It might be 4. Many Chinese people see 4 as a "bad luck" number because it sounds similar to the character for "death".

    Because of this, many buildings skip the fourth floor, and simply call it the fifth floor. In Hong Kong, some buildings even skip all floors numbered with 4, such as, 4, 14, 24, 34 all 40-49 floors. Some buildings also skip the 13th floor, as 13 is an unlucky number in the West. As a result, a building whose highest floor is 50 may actually have only 35 floors.

    I'm very glad to tell you something about the Spring Festival. It's a (传统的) festival in China. Chinese people  (庆祝) the Spring Festival happily. During the festival, people visit friends and  (亲戚).They  (招待) each other with  (和蔼) and warmth. They also give each other  (礼物),  (传播) love and joy. People eat lots of delicious food such as meat, vegetables, fruit and (甜点). Sometimes people go out to  (欣赏) the mountains and rivers. Many people put on several  (磅) after the Spring Festival.

    Imagine the scene —you come home after work and feel too tired to cook, but find a delicious meal waiting for you .It sounds like a dream,  it could come true. Some British scientists have  (invent） a robot cook. They have built a set of robotic arms, which are able to cook  (meal).The robot cook will be ready for sale as early as 2017 as part of high -tech kitchen, and the  will be around £10,000,which includes a pair of robotic arms, an oven, a hob(炉盘）, a dishwasher and a sink.

    Scientists have spent almost 18 years  (develop) the robotic arms. They can cook almost anything you want  (eat).They can imitate(模仿） human movements closely and they can do many things like humans, but they move a bit  (slowly) than humans. The arms will tuck up(折起） when they are not being  (use), making space for their owners.

    Users can order dinner  using an app on their smart phone.  convenient it is!

    When we think summer, most of us think of fun in the outdoors. So it seems easy to lose weight over the summer. In fact, though, it's quite possible for us to put on weight. The good news is that we can avoid these problems if we know what to pay attention to.

    Here are some ways to keep summer weight away.

    ①

    When we don't have a plan, it's easy to spend summer moving from bed to the computer. So it is necessary to make a work or study plan, like learning a new skill or working at a job.

    ②

    Because we don't have to go to school, it's easy to sleep late, watch too much TV and eat more snakes as usual. So it's necessary to make sure your summer days follow a schedule—getting up at the same time each day and eating meals as usual times.

    ③

    Whenever you're free, find something special to do, like making a dinner for your family. But remember: limit your screen time, no more than two hours a day.

    ④

    If it's too hot outside or you don't like going to a gym, you can do you exercise indoors. If you love being outdoors, try swimming, running or playing soccer in the early morning or evening. Anyway, don't let the heat stop your exercise plans.

    ⑤

    Don't eat too much meat. Choose some fresh fruit. It's better to put your focus on talking with your family and friends, not on food. Also, don't eat too many frozen things like ice cream.

A. Beat the heat       B. Make a work or study plan         

C. Think about what to eat     D. Stay busy         

E. Put everything in a schedule

要求：1．书写规范整洁，80词左右；2．短文必须包括表格中的信息，条理清晰，观点明确，意思连贯。3. 短文首句仅供选择使用，不计入词数。

    Tom has changed a lot in the last few years. ……