浙江省宁波市2019年中考英语试卷

    Charlie Chaplin's parents separated a year after his birth in 1889. He lived with his mother and elder brother in a flat in London.

    Mrs. Chaplin managed to 1 her children on her own with the money she made as a singer. 2, their economic (经济的) situation changed when she became ill with laryngitis(喉炎) in 1894. Instead of resting her 3 until it got better, Mrs. Chaplin kept on singing. Her voice got weaker and weaker and she began to find it 4 to find well-paid work.

    One evening Charlie happened to be in the theatre 5 his mother singing on stage. Suddenly, her voice 6. She tried to finish the song, but the audience (观众) began to whistle and got angry. Mrs. Chaplin could not continue any longer and walked 7 the stage crying.

    The stage manager knew he had to do something quickly to 8 the embarrassing situation. He remembered Charlie once sang at a party. He 9 took Charlie by the hand to the stage. After a brief introduction, he left Charlie to please the audience.

    Charlie began to sing and dance in front of hundreds of people. The audience enjoyed the 10 very much and began to throw money. 11 Charlie saw this, he immediately stopped singing and announced to the audience that first he would 12 the money and then he would finish the song. The audience found this announcement especially 13 and started to throw even more money onto the stage.

    Charlie felt perfectly at home on stage. He did not feel 14 at all and danced and sang more songs to the audience. To his amazement, there was more 15 and more money throwing.

    That night was Charlie's first public performance on the stage and his mother's last.

Sing a Song of People

    by Lois Lenski

    Many people might think that if they had more money, then they would be happier in life. For example, people might look at what others have, like expensive clothes or nice cars, and wish they could have the same. But the things that money can buy can not bring happiness to a person for long.

     ① But is that really true? Studies have found that money can, in fact, make people happier.  ② Instead, it's giving money to others that makes people happy.  ③ It could be buying a present for a friend or a family member.  ④ It could be buying a homeless person food to eat. It could be giving money to a person in need. Just think about the last time you used your own money to do something for someone else. How did you feel? Whether it is a small or large amount of money, people feel happier when they give. This is because making someone else happy makes the giver happy, too.

    This idea of connecting your happiness to the happiness of others is described as ubuntu in an African language. There is even a story about a man visiting Africa who asked some kids to race to a nearby tree. The first child to touch the tree would get a sweet treat. Surprisingly, all the children held hands and ran together. They all touched the tree at the same time. The man asked why they had done this. The children simply said they could only enjoy eating the treat if everyone had one.

    The year was 1859. America and England had already fought two wars. Now, they were at peace. But one day a pig got hungry. And it nearly caused another war between the two countries.

    The pig was owned by a British man who lived on a small island. The island was just off the western part of North America. Both England and the US said the island was theirs. Across the island from the British man lived some American farmers. Everyone on the island got along peacefully. But the peace ended the day the British man's pig decided to eat some of an American farmer's potatoes.

    One of the American farmers shot and killed the pig. Then the pig's owner wanted $100 from the man who shot the animal. That was a lot of money, so the farmer refused to pay it. The British and Americans began to argue, and the situation got worse. The farmers asked the governor over the island at that time for help. He sent a group of soldiers to protect the farmers. The British answered by sending 2, 000 soldiers. The British were on one side of the island, and the Americans were on the other. The problem that began with the pig was about to become a shooting war.

    When news of the problem reached Washington and London, both leaders were surprised. Neither country wanted another war. They sent some men to try to fix the problem. After a discussion, it was decided that each country would keep a small group of soldiers on the island. They would stay there until the two countries could decide who owned the island. Then the others would have to leave.

    Twelve years went by. Neither side wanted to give u the island, but they knew they had to do something. They asked the leader of Germany to help decide. After nearly a year of discussion, a decision was made. America would get the island.

    Finally, the Pig War was over and only one shot was fired. That was the shot that killed the pig!

    Big data (数据) is a lot of sets of information that are put together so they can be used by a computer program. The computer program looks for different kinds of answers or patterns in the data. Big data can have different kinds of information from many sources, such as information that comes from schools, social media sites, companies, and governments. One set of data can have people's names and addresses. Another set can have what they like, where they go to school, and how much time they spend on the computer.

    Big data can be used in many ways. The government uses it to understand how many people travel on buses or trains. This information is then used to make bus or train systems better. Some schools use big data to understand which children may need extra help in class. The teacher can then give certain students more help or support so those students can succeed in school. Companies use big data, too. It helps them understand who buys their products. For example, one company uses weather data to see when people eat the most ice cream.

    Big data can be used for good reasons. Some hospitals use big data to predict if a baby who is born too early will get sick. The hospital can then take extra steps to take care of that baby so he or she does not get sick. Big data can also be used for bad reasons. It can be used to predict which kinds of people are likely to break the law or hurt others, even if they have not done anything wrong.

    How can big data be used for good and bad things? It is because the computer programs used to look at big data and understand it are written by people. People think a certain way. Because they think a certain way, they build a model of those ideas. These ideas are then used to look at the data. Sometimes, these ideas are helpful for people or businesses. Other times, bad ideas can cause problems for certain groups of people.

    Some experts believe that burpee (立卧撑) is the best exercise in the world because this exercise is one that anyone can do very easily and extremely cheaply.

    How to perform the basic burpee correctly:

A.      B.      C.      D.

    Keep your back straight, squat (下蹲) down and place your hands on the floor.

    Begin in a standing position with your back straight and your arms at your sides.

    Bring your feet back to the squat position by placing your hands on the floor. Then jump straight up as high as you can after the squat position, holding your arms up directly over your head.

    Move your feet back behind you, so that you move from a squat position to a full-length leg extension. Keep both arms and legs straight and strong.

   As a form of exercise, the burpee is .

A. difficult and boring

B. useful but difficult

C. simple and inexpensive

D. simple but expensive