浙江省2021年中考英语真题分类汇编：阅读理解

The first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, completed a huge number of projects during his rule. Between 221 and 210 B. C. , he started the building of the Great Wall. The emperor also ordered the building of a huge army of life-sized terracotta soldiers (士兵). These, he hoped, would protect his tomb after his death.

Lost in Time

The soldiers in Xi'an's terracotta museum are today light brown, but they weren't always. They began as an army of red, blue, yellow, green, white, and purple. Sadly, most of the colors did not last to the present day. After being exposed (暴露) to air during digging, the coating under the paint began to fall off. The paint disappeared in less time than it takes to boil an egg, taking away with it important pieces of history.

New Technology

Now new technology is starting to show the army's true colors. Archeologists (考古学家) have recently discovered an area with more than a hundred soldiers. Many of these still have their painted features, including black hair, pink faces, and black or brown eyes. Chinese and German researchers have developed a chemical liquid (液体) to help save the soldiers' colors. After finding a soldier or another art piece, archeologists put the liquid on it. They then cover it in plastic.

Back to Life

Archeologists are also finding colors in the dirt around the soldiers. It's important not to do anything with the dirt, so the colors won't be lost. "We are treating the dirt as an art piece, "says Rong Bo, the museum's leading archeologist. The next challenge, says Rong Bo, is to find a way to use the colors onto the army-again. Once that happens, artists can bring Emperor Qin's army back to its full, bright colors.

Why is it that the people you meet when backpacking (背包旅行) seem to be more interesting and outgoing than your friends at home? That's my experience, anyway. Very often, you'll meet people that are fun to travel with and worth getting to know. I've spent time with people of many countries and have found out some interesting things about their cultures. It's a great way to learn more about the world.

It's often easy to make new friends while you're traveling, and you'll be able to hang around with them for a few days, until one of you leaves for the next exciting place. Relationships of this kind are shorter but can be just as strong as friendships back home, because you do so much together in that short time. I often find I like to share things about myself that I'd never say to my close friends. It is safe, I think, because we probably won't meet again, except online.

One thing that's important when you're backpacking is to make sure you carry only basic needs, so your backpack isn't too heavy. I travel" "light" these days. One good tip someone gave me is to take old clothes and just throw them away when you move on, instead of washing and waiting for things to dry. Many hostels (小旅社) don't provide shampoo and shower gel. You can get mini bottles in supermarkets.

I've discovered that many backpackers visit little places other tourists don't go to, and by using local shops and guest houses, they help those places with much-needed financial (经济上的) support. Most small guest houses allow you to stay for unlimited time, so you can spend as long as you like exploring the local area. Backpackers are also kinder to the environment, because they use trains and buses rather than cars. So, what are you waiting for? (By Andy Robinson)

Masa walked slowly towards the house, stopping now and then to cut off dead leaves or fading flowers. There were few weeds (杂草). Yuki had spent many hours of her two-week visit weeding in the garden. Masa wondered if Yuki had spent so much of her time outside because she wanted to avoid talking to her.

But Yuki must have wanted very much to see us, Masa told herself. She had visited in the last weeks of June, as soon as her college was out for the summer.

She said she wanted to stay longer but couldn't because she had to work. Besides, she needed to use the studio at her college for photography and she had to go to the library to read,

"Why do you have to go to college to study art?" Masa asked her. "All the great artists didn't go to college."

Yuki shook her head. "That was a different time. It's hard to explain. "

"I was thinking you could live with us all year round and still be an artist. This is a nice quiet place to live. "

"I don't know. How would I support myself here?" "You can always give lessons." Masa said.

"But I don't want to spend a long time looking at kids' drawings."

"What will you do after you graduate, anyway? Will you become a teacher somewhere else then?"

"Grandma, I don't know." Yuki sighed.

"What is the use of going to college if you don't know what you're going there for?" "Maybe I'm going because I don't know. I just want to study art now. I don't want to think that far ahead. "

The minute Masa was going to point out that this was too careless a way to live, Yuki suddenly stood up and put on her straw hat.

"I'm going to the garden to weed your flowerbed", she said, "Let me know if there's something else I can do"

On Yuki's visit, Masa felt strained when they talked, and she was sure Yuki also felt it. But Yuki was never rude or irritable (易怒的). Even when they disagreed, her face was always full of patience.

Takeover Day

Want to be a football coach, a policeman or a musician? If you could do any job for a day, what would it be? Takeover Day offers young people this chance.

Ludwick Marishane, a South African, was with his friends in Limpopo when they started talking about inventing something to put on your skin(皮肤) so you don't have to take a bath. Ludwick thought that this was a great idea. He did some research on the Internet, and he found some surprising facts.

About 2,500,000,000 people around the world haven't got clcan water. This is a huge problcm because dirty water can create illnesses. One of them is trachoma:8, 000, 000 people all over the world get trachoma every year. They wash their faces with dirty water, get ill and go blind. To stop trachoma, people don't have to receive expensive medical care. They have to wash their faces with clean water. That's it.

Ludwick started thinking, He wanted to make something to help people in parts of the world where it's difficult to find clean water. He did more research on the Internet, and he did more thinking. Ludwick had a plan. He wanted to make a gel(凝胶) for people to put on their skin so they don't have to take a bath. When he was at university, he never stopped thinking about his invention. He started to talk to other people about it, and three years later the dream came true. He made the gel and called it "DryBath".

Ludwick is the winner of lots of prizes. People call him "one of the brightest young men in the world". He is happy about his success. DryBath is helping people to be healthy. And DryBath also helps to save water. That's important in many parts of the world, where it's difficult to find clean water, Now he wants to invent other things and also wants to help other young people to become inventors.

The natural world is colorful with humans, plants and animals showing different colors. Human skin can be many different colors and it changes with the sun, our feelings or ourhealth for example. This is because of pigments(色素)，which reflect light and make what the eye secs as colors, So. when we fecl excited or angry, our heart can send more blood to the face and the pigments in the skin become red. This is why we have the expression that someone "sces red"when they are angry.

Plants also have pigments. Color is important for them to live on. The bright colors of flowers catch the attention of insects(昆虫), which then carry their pollen(花粉) from one flower to another. Bees can see colors we cannot, and they follow these to the inside of the flower. Without bees visiting flowers in this way, many plants would die out.

Animals also use color for their own need. They protect themselves with different colors so as not to be seen by predators. The snowshoe hare for example, a type of wild rabbit, changes color with seasons for this reason. During summer ir is a brown color, and in winter it is white so that it can hide in the snow. However, some animals use color as a warning to make predators stay away. Bright colors such as yellow and red are often used in this way. Nature, however, is very clever, and predators also use colors to attract(吸引) the animals they feed on.

So, we can see that there may be many different reasons and uses for colors in the natural world. Some uses of color in nature remain unknown, but one thing is for sure, color not only makes our planet beautiful but it is also necessary for our planet to live on.

You may study differently from your friends, but your study habits are not wrong!

Kelly and Maria are best friends with a lot in common. They love doing things together, such as going to movics and concerts, shopping, or just sitting at a small cafe. Since they take a lot of the same school subjects, they would love to study together, but they find this impossible. Their working styles are so completely different that they can't be in the same room while they are studying!

Kelly would like to study in a clean, open space, while Maria works best with books, papers and other things around her. Kelly prefers to study in a totally silent room, but Maria loves to play music or even have the TV on. Kelly can sit for hours without moving, and often gets all her homework done in one sitting. Maria, however, is always getting up, and says that she thinks best when she's on the move.

You might be asking yourself which way of studying gets better results? Many people believe that a silent, tidy setting(环境）is the way to go,     ▲   Some research has even shown that outside noise and untidiness help some people focus(聚焦）their attention, because it makes them form a"wall"in their mind around what they are doing and improves their focus.

So, if you're a student who chooses to study while sitting at a table in a busy shopping center, don't worry about it. If you work in total silence, that's OK, too. Judging from Kelly's and Maria's study habits, the best way to study is the way that works for you. In their very different ways, both of them do well in school, and both finish their work within the required time as well.

Think of space! What comes to mind? No, I'm not talking about planets or aliens. I'm talking about the space we live in! The world is full of different spaces. We can think about spaces in three different ways:  public spaces, private spaces and personal spaces.

We should respect(尊重) all spaces. We should respect public spaces. We can't leave a mess or take anything that doesn't belong to us. It's important to leave no trace(痕迹) in public spaces. We should respect private spaces by asking for permission before entering. And we should respect personal spaces by finding out how much space a friend or classmate needs to feel comfortable. Respecting all spaces helps make us better people. It also helps keep our community safe and fun,

Is there something in your community that could be changed? Is there a person in your neighborhood who could offer help? If you're hoping for someone to make a difference, that someone could be you!

Volunteering your time is a great way to make a difference in your community. And you'll feel good about doing something that helps people or improves the places around you.

This past summer, my friends and I noticed how messy our neighborhood park was. We wanted it to be different. We worked without parents and teachers to clean up the park. We had a great time making the park even better than before, and now the whole neighborhood is able to share and enjoy it again.

Maybe cleaning up a park isn't your choice, though. No problem! You can turn anything that matters to you into a volunteer project. Do you like playing chess, reading, or spending time with your pet? You can volunteer to do what you love to do. For example, you could help at an old people's center, simply by talking or playing games with them to make their days better, If you're great at math or English, you could volunteer to be a homework helper at your school. You're always needed to walk dogs or play with cats. Or you can collect things for hopeless people, such as soap and toothbrushes.

You see, there is something for everyone. Whatever you do as a volunteer, your time will be enjoyed and that always feels good. Kids everywhere are making a difference by volunteering. You can, too!