浙江省宁波市奉化区2020-2021学年九年级上学期英语期末抽测试卷

Jeremy looked across the hot grassy land in South Africa.

"Ready?" Dad1.

"Ready." Jeremy answered. Jeremy hardly ever spent time with his father, a famous wildlife photographer. They climbed into the2truck. As the truck moved along the rough road, there was a big crash(破裂声).The door had fallen off! "Now we can see3." Dad laughed. Their guide Makalu threw the door into the back of the truck.

They 4 near a watering hole. Before long, Jeremy saw a small group of elephants walk5the water. Dad jumped out of the truck and focused his camera on the largest elephant. Jeremy6a baby elephant walking between two adults. The larger elephants walked into the water, showering themselves7. Then the baby elephant rushed in and water went up to its eyes. The water was too deep for it. The baby elephant was8. It tried to climb out of the water,9the bank was too steep(陡峭的).Other elephants tried pushing the baby up, without10. Jeremy took the broken door from the back of the truck .Makalu saw11Jeremy was planning and ran to help. Together they pulled the door down to the water. Makalu comforted the mother elephant, gently explaining that they were going to help her baby.

The mother knew Makalu and12him. Jeremy moved the door onto the bank. Its mother pushed from behind. The baby stepped onto the13and began to walk. Three more steps, and it was14. The other elephants gathered around the baby, touching it with their trunks.

"Boy, Jeremy," Dad said, "That was the most exciting15I've ever taken! Now you know why I love my job so much!"

Help students improve their reading skills at

SUMMER READING CAMP

Have you heard of the "summer slide"? Unfortunately, it's not the fun kind of slide you'll find at a water park or playground. This slide is different. It's a slide that no mom wants her child to ride.

Many studies show that kids who don't read during summer vacation actually slip(下滑) in reading ability by the time autumn term starts.

Reader question:

Please explain "take your hat off in this sentence: "You've got to take your hat off to somebody when they're doing right, and I take my hat off to him."

My comments:

In this quote (引文), the speaker says, to give credit where it's due, he takes his hat off by way of gratitude of praise. In other words, the speaker wants to admire "him" for doing something right.

This expression, taking one's hat off, has its root in the traditional practice of people taking their hats off in different situations. First of all, people wore hats a lot more in the past than they do nowadays, especially in cold areas. When two men met in the street, they might say hello or they might greet each other by taking their hat off and slightly waving it in the other person's direction.

Or, for example, when a man saw a woman, he took off his hat. That was good manners. Or people took off their hats when they were passing a funeral (葬礼) ceremony. Or everybody took their hat off when an anthem(圣歌) was played in a sports stadium.

Customs may have changed, but taking one's hat off as a gesture of respect or a sign of praise or thank-you has remained - in the metaphorical (隐喻) sense.

Hereafter, the saying "I take my hat off to you" is used whenever someone's done something we think outstanding and praiseworthy.

La Gomera is one of a few places in the world which has a whistled (口哨) language. We do not know how and why it began because we do not know the complete history of the island. But we can certainly imagine the reasons for the beginning of the whistled language. There are many deep volleys on the island. A person on one side of a valley cannot easily shout to a person on the other side. But he can whistle and be heard. Some of the best whistlers can be heard from four miles away and the record is seven miles. The people who live on the island usually have good teeth, and this helps them to whistle well. They must also have good ears so that they can hear the other whistlers.

We can understand why the whistled language continues. It is very useful on the island, and quite easy to learn. When somebody is hurt or ill, the whistled language takes the place of the telephone. If the sick person is quite far away from the town, people pass the message from one to another. A boy guarding cattle on a hillside whistles to a man fishing from his boat. The last one is able to describe the trouble fully and exactly to the doctor in town. People help one another in the same way when a car breaks or a cow is lost.

The whistled language is hundreds of years old, and probably it will continue to live on for hundreds of years more. Radio and TV often kill the special ways of speaking in different parts of a country. But on La Gomera you are nobody if you cannot whistle. Perhaps soon after TV arrives on the island, the people there will be whistling the news and other facts and opinions.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant leads the list of inductees(入选者) for this year's Sports Hall of Fame. Kobe died on January 26, 2020 at age 41 in a helicopter crash, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and 7 other passengers.

"He was the head of FIBA and this was a way to honor him," Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo said. "It was a special thing done through that committee."

All men's success is not accidental, even if you're Kobe. He insisted to get up at four thirty in the morning and throw into a thousand balls to the end and practiced to the point of exhaustion. A reporter once asked him why he was so successful, Kobe replied, "Do you know the way you lo at half past four in the morning in Los Angeles?" The reporter shook his head, "I know every day at half past four in the morning in Los Angeles," Kobe went on to say...

Kobe's death has been part of a jarring start of the year for basketball: NBA commissioner Emeritus David Stern died on Jan I, Kobe and his daughter Gianna were among nine who died in the accident in late January, and the NBA shut down on March 11 as the COVID-19 began to influence North America.

Within hours of his death on Sunday morning, his name was appearing suddenly on city buses and undergrounds, on the walls of streets, and in a thousand gifts left outside the downtown Staples Center in Los Angeles. City leaders, meanwhile, lit up public buildings in purple and gold, the colors of the Lakers, for whom Kobe played all 20 of his professional seasons.

As the days pass, it has become clear that this is no ordinary grief. Kobe, as everyone knew him, was a man who touched a great number of lives in many ways. He was a supporter for victims (受害者) of police violence (暴力), but he also gave away money to a children's fund. What's more, he set up a fund to develop youth sports both soccer and basketball. In Los Angeles, everyone is mourning (哀悼) Kobe Bryant in their way.

Should swimming lessons be a must in schools?

Guangdong province is set to make swimming lessons compulsory (必修的) in primary schools starting from 2020, and making the courses be given from the fourth grade. Do we need to make swimming compulsory in schools? Different students share their opinions.

In Poland swimming lessons are not compulsory, but most of the schools have them. I think that when it is only possible - there should be the swimming lessons for kids. It is a lifesaving skill.

I come from France where swimming lessons in every school are compulsory. I even got my lifesaving certificate in school.

As a boy born in a rural area, I learnt swimming in a river near my home when I was 7 or 8 years old. I think it's a good idea for schools to teach students to swim. But as a matter of fact, not every school in China has the

conditions to do that.

There are swimming lessons in my city, but I was very disappointed in how they were taught. The kids spent 45 minutes of the one hour lesson practicing strokes ON DRY LAND. They only spent 15 minutes in the water.

It is a pity that many Chinese athletes won world championships in swimming while most schools don't have the swimming facilities. The government needs to put money into the popularity of the sport.