河南省郑州市2021-2022学年八年级上学期上期期中测试英语试卷

How many times have we said to ourselves, "Oh, I'll do that tomorrow." Sometimes tomorrow never comes and we find ourselves saying, "Oh, I wish I hadn't put that off."

Our family was friends with Betty for many years. Over the years, we shared phone calls, birthday cards, and much more. Every year, Betty sent our youngest son Brandon a birthday card with five dollars in it. She did this until he graduated from high school.

One year, not long after her birthday, I called to see how she was and ask her if she did anything special for her birthday. I was surprised when Betty didn't answer the phone. Instead, her daughter Carol did. Carol told me that her mom was ill and had gone downhill fast. She was in hospice care. Carol gave the phone to Betty. I talked to her and let her know that we loved her.

As soon as I got off the phone, I sent a text to Brandon and let him know Betty wasn't doing well. Brandon stopped what he was doing and sent flowers to Betty. You can imagine how proud I was of Brandon when Carol called the next day. She told me that Betty loved the flowers very much. Just a few days later, Betty died.

It's never "too soon" to be kind to others. You never know when it might be "too late" instead.

Have you ever tried to hide your emotions from someone during a conversation? It's not always easy, as the color of your face might tell the truth.

Scientists from the Ohio State University have found that people are able to tell other people's emotions according to changes in the color of their faces, The Guardian reported.

Scientists studied pictures of people's facial expressions. They found that every facial expression has an only color pattern. For example, happiness makes our faces red around the cheeks and temples and a little blue around the chin. Disgust creates a blue-yellow color around the lips, but also a red-green color around the nose and forehead.

"We believe these color patterns are due to small changes in blood flow triggered by the central nervous system," lead researcher Aleix Martinez told The Guardian.

But this raises a question: Is it the color alone, or also facial expressions, that help people tell others' emotions?

To work this out, scientists added color patterns to pictures of faces that showed no facial expressions. They asked volunteers to tell what emotions the faces were showing. Volunteers were able to accurately tell the emotion 75 percent of the time.

This might explain why there are some sayings that connect emotions to the color of one's face. For example, when two people are heatedly arguing over something, we say they are "red in the face". When a person is very angry, we'd say he or she is "blue in the face".

Class Afloat is a Canadian school on a tall ship! The ship is 210 feet long and 30 feet wide. The classrooms are well-equipped and comfortable, and there's even a library! It isn't necessary to know anything about sailing—students can learn on the ship.

Not all the students are Canadian. This year, there are also students from Mexico, the US, Germany, and Turkey. There's a mix of ages too. There are high school students sixteen to eighteen years old, and first-year college students.

 Because the school is a ship, you can do some exciting classes, for example, Marine Biology (studying the animals and plants in the sea) and History of Geography courses about the places you visit. Students also learn all about sailing!

Students don't just study. They must also clean, cook, and sail the ship. In their free time, students can rest, read, or watch a movie. In the evenings, they relax with friends and have club meetings.

 In port there is lots for the students to do—home stays, camping trips, museum tours, cultural events, hiking, etc. They also go boating and do other water sports. Parents can meet up with the students in one port every term.

 They help local families in different ways, for example, with basic health matters or starting a business. Students learn how, with just a little money and time, they can make changes that improve other people's lives.

A. Students also take part in two volunteer programs in Senegal and the Dominican Republic.

B. The teachers design special study programs for each student.

C. It can take up to sixty students.

D. Every sixteen to twenty days, the ship stops in a port for three to six days.

E. There's usually a mix of nationalities.

One day, a boy found the cocoon of a butterfly and brought it home. A few days later, the boy saw a small 1in the cocoon. He sat and watched for several hours as a butterfly struggled to make 2 body through that little hole. Suddenly it stopped.

So the boy 3 to help the butterfly, thinking the butterfly might be 4. He took a pair of scissors and cut the hole 5. The butterfly came out of the cocoon but it 6 a little different. It had a weak body and small, thin 7. The butterfly didn't start to fly. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a weak body and thin wings. It was never able to fly.

The boy acted with 8 but he didn't understand why it could be like this. When a butterfly crawls out of the cocoon, it must 9. The hard work of getting out of the cocoon makes the fluid from the butterfly's body into its wings. It helps the butterfly be 10 to fly. If the butterfly never has to squeeze itself out of the cocoon, its wings will never get the fluid and it can never fly.

Sometimes struggles are what we need in our lives. If we lived our lives without any problems, we would 11 learn or grow. We would not be as 12 as we could have been and we would never fly.

In our lives, 13 is the key to all windows. Without it, there's no way of life. We can't avoid 14 or problems. So, when you 15 a problem or difficulty next time, remember the butterfly. Struggle a little—then fly！

In the early 1900s, people in England often traveled by steam train. On the trains, there were many compartments. About six people could sit in one compartment.

One day, six people were traveling in a compartment on a train. Five of them were  and well-behaved. Some of them read books and others were sleeping.

But the sixth was a rude young man who was making a lot of  for the other passengers. He was smoking and taking his shoes . He even sang songs  from time to time.

At last, the young man got out at a station with his two heavy bags. None of the other passengers help .

But one of them watched the rude young man and  until he was very far away. Then, the man on the train opened the  and shouted to the rude young man: "Hey, you  something behind in the compartment!" Then he closed the window.

The young man turned around and hurried back with his two heavy bags. He was very tied he arrived, with his mouth open and panting. He shouted  the window: "What did I leave behind? Give it to me!"

As the train began to move again, the passenger who had called him back opened the window and said: "A very bad impression!"

Do you like taking a nap after lunch? It can make you feel relaxed  refreshed for the afternoon. Be careful, though. Napping for too long can backfire.

Scientists say that a power nap should only be about 20 to 25 . If you sleep longer than this, you'll fall  a deeper sleep cycle. It lasts for about 90 minutes. If your alarm wakes you up during this deep sleep cycle, you will feel very tired.

Also, take a nap too late in the day, at 3 or 4 pm. Having snacks before a main meal, it just cut down your "hunger" for sleep  night.

A: Hi, Greg. I didn't see you yesterday. Where did you go?

B: Hi, Helen. .

A: Oh, what TV program did you watch?

B: Its name's Athletic Brother. Have you ever heard of it?

A: Of course! It's the biggest hit now. ?

B: I love Kevin best in the program. He's my idol and I'm fond of him for a long time.

A: Why do you like him?

B: Because he can do best in singing and creating. He has the most beautiful voice in the world! ?

A: He's the most popular for sure. In fact, he's my favorite, too!

B: Great! I heard his new movie is coming out recently. ?

A: Yes, I'd love to. Which cinema do you prefer?

B: How about Blue Sea Theater? .

A: Sounds great! Let's make it on Sunday afternoon.

B: OK, see you then!