浙江省嘉兴市十校联考2018-2019学年八年级下学期英语期中考试试卷（含听力音频）

    I once had little passion(激情) in my life. But what happened the other day changed my mind. It was then that I learned how 1 it is to have a passion in life.

    That day I went home in Mom's car. When Mom 2 at a red light, someone on the side of the road caught my eye. It was a man dressed 3 old clothes. He was homeless. That didn't interest me, because I had seen 4 like him before. Those people usually looked unhappy and hopeless.

    But this man was 5 in some way. He was not sitting down 6 but dancing happily to the music with a 7 in his hand. The radio seemed to be the most important thing for him.

    "Mom, why does that man have a radio 8 he's homeless?" I asked.

    "He 9 it," she answered.

    "10 why doesn't he use the money to buy food or clothes? He paid for something that he didn't need."

    "Well, Sarah, sometimes food and clothes aren't the most important."

    That man must care more about 11 than food or clothes. I soon realized that 12 is the key to life.

    Since then I am always 13 what is truly important in life. A home, a meal, clothes—these things are 14 part of the life. What we often forget is that we all need a joy, a light in a 15 day. We all need a passion which gives a person the happiness to keep going.

    When I was a child, my parents always told me that I should never talk to strangers. This was part of a whole list of things I should never do: Never accept food or candy from strangers, never get in a car with strangers, and so on. They think strangers may do something harmful to us.

    But if we didn't start a conversation with strangers, we'd never make new friends. We'd never get a job. We may miss the happiness that comes from talking with strangers. And the more people you know, the more chances you can get.

    The following passage offers you some advice on how to break the ice.

Don't just look at your shoes. Go and say "Hi" to that new guy. It will be easier to break the ice if you know more about different cultures.

    British: Beautiful day, isn't it?

    The weather in Britain is changeable. So, it is one of the topics the British care most about. And there's a simple rule: Say "Yes" whether you agree with the person's idea on the weather or not. That's because the British start a conversation using the weather so that they can continue their talk.

    French: Where did you go on holiday?

    To talk with a French person, the safest way is to ask about his or her last holiday. French students enjoy a 10-to-15-day holiday every two months. French employees(雇员) get more than one and a half months of holidays every year.

    American: So, where are you from?

    The US is so big and people move so often that place is always a source(来源) of talk. You can try to find a connection with the place they're from. For example, if someone is from Los Angeles, you could say, "Oh, I have a friend who studied there."