浙江省宁波市明州2019年初中英语学业水平考试甬真卷

    Several weeks ago, our headmaster, Mr. Brown, told us that our school had been chosen to compete on Smart Aleck-a game show. My best friend Nancy and I both 1 it. Nancy has a good imagination, and I know a lot of history. So we thought we'd be good 2 for the team.

    A few days later, Mr. Brown held a meeting with everyone interested in the 3 .He told us that Smart Aleck used a five-member team and three more people would be needed as backup (替补). Mr. Brown said we would have a 4 among all the students present and the top eight scorers would become the team and the backup. Everybody agreed that this was a 5 way to decide.

    Yesterday, all of the hopefuls got together. Mr. Brown acted as the host. After a couple of hours, all the places on the team were set 6 one. Nancy and I tied(打成平手)for that last position. We had to hold a one-on- one competition. The winner would be on the team and the loser would be the 7 .

    Midway through our two-person competition, I was starting to pull 8 . Then I saw the look on Nancy's face. I waited for a second and knew 9 I had to do. As much as I wanted to be on Smart Aleck, Nancy wanted it even more. So, starting with my next question, I held back and let Nancy 10 , just by a little bit. When she 11 she would be on the show, she felt sorry for my not being on the team. However, I will still have the 12 of seeing the show up close.

    Was I 13 by not trying as hard as I could? I don't think so. No one noticed, and Nancy and I didn't say it. It won't hurt the team 14Nancy will be a very good competitor on the real show. I think that making my best friend happy was the 15 thing to do.

    Many events happened in April, 2019 around the world. Some of them can cause us great sadness, but some of them can bring us as many inspirations as possible. Let's share a few of them.

    In ancient times, there was a king who loved flowers. His palace was always decorated with beautiful orchids(兰花)and other flowers. As the king grew older, he knew that one day he would have to give up his throne(王位). He had to find someone new to rule the country.

    He came up with a competition. He asked his servants to travel to every part of the country and give every person a flower seed. He then announced that whoever grew him the most beautiful flower would take his throne.

    Everyone in the country then got their own seed. One young man named David was especially excited about the competition, as he had experience growing flowers himself,

    David planted his seed in a pet and put it in a place where it would get lots of sunlight. He took care to water it every day. But as hard as he tried, his flower simply would not grow.

    Finally, it was time for everyone to show their flowers to the king. David took his empty pot to the palace.

    "Your Majesty, I am sorry to say that I could not grow a flower this time at all, ________,"he said.

    The king was quite satisfied with David's honesty. Although he did not choose David as the new king, he gave David a job as a judge(法官). He believed that David's honesty would make him the right person to make sure the justice(公正)in the country.

    ①When I was a university teacher in Ningbo, I told my students that it would be wise to keep their smartphones in their backpacks. They were young adults. I didn't want to take their property(财产), nor could I shout at them. You can guess what happened. Some students were polite, using their phones between activities. Others would rudely text(发短信)their friends during lessons, sometimes even while I talked to them individually. One young woman, K, openly played a game at her desk with earphones!

    ②l began to think my class was boring(probably true)and that my students hated me (I could understand). But what could I do? I couldn't fail every student. Maybe I was just being a crazy old person.

    ③With all the recent talks about banning(禁止)smartphones at schools, you might think I'm in favor. I'm actually not so sure. This technology isn't going away. Teachers probably need to adjust(调整)as much as students.

    ④I designed(设计)activities to force more participation, using pens and paper and moving around the room to talk to classmates. It kind of worked! I also found ways to use their phones. Things like research, translation and creative projects. I found that my students worked hardest on these activities.

    ⑤Phones might not be the biggest problem. Once, walking on campus, I saw K standing alone in the dark. I could see her face lit up by her mobile game. Maybe smartphone addiction(上瘾)at school is a sign of loneliness or a boring teacher.

    Teenagers need to eat food that is good for their bodies while they're still young so that they will grow up to be healthy adults. So it is necessary for school cafeterias (食堂)to provide nutritious and healthy food. With this in mind, the government has introduced a new food safety rule that will improve nutrition and health standards in schools.

    The rule came into force on April 1, 2019. It requires the heads of primary and middle schools to eat with students in their cafeterias. Schools will also be required to make information about food sources and suppliers(供应商)public.

    The rule also suggests that parents should eat with students at school in order to provide advice on food safety and nutrition. Schools must try to find food safety problems and solve them in a timely manner.

    If a school is caught buying low-quality food or failing to report food safety incidents(事件), the head of the school will be warned, fired or handed over to law enforcement(执法机关), the rule says.

    Parents across China have become angry about food safety incidents in schools. The most recent example happened in March at the Chengdu No. 7 High School Development School. Parents posted videos and photos of moldy(发霉的)food that was served in the school's cafeteria. Finally, the head of the school was fired. In October, the head of an international school in Shanghai was fired after health and education authorities found moldy tomatoes and onions in the school's kitchen.

What do other schools do?

    Schools in other countries have many ways to ensure food safety. For example, many parents in Australia volunteer in their children's school cafeterias. These parents do their best to see that their children are serve nutritious food.

    According to the traditional Chinese custom, 2018 is just the year of Dog. Ranking as the eleventh animal in the Chinese zodiac-the Shengxiao, Dog is a symbol of loyalty(忠诚)and honesty.

      ①  

    Words and phrases including dogs (Gou in Chinese) are commonly used by young people when telling jokes about themselves. For example, you can say "Valentine's Day has nothing to do with me since I am a single dog." It is believed that dog related words and phrases usually have good humour.

      ②  

    Among some young people, adding“dog”to a friend's name has the meaning of a close relationship. One of the most famous examples in China is that the actor Lin Gengxin is called Lin Gou by his close friends and fans.

      ③  

    Kids with pleasant names are easy to bring up, according to an ancient Chinese saying. Parents in the countryside prefer to give nicknames(绰号)including Gou Sheng and Gou Dan to their kids in the hope that they are as easy to be raised as dogs.

      ④  

    Since dogs are considered to have many good qualities(品质), the word is included in more than 10 Chinese metaphors. For example, "serve like a dog or a horse" is used to describe someone who is ready to work hard for the people who have powers.