浙江省桐乡市现代片四校2017届九年级上学期英语期中素质检测试卷

    I don't know how many times people have said, while shaking their heads in disappointment(失望), "I just don't know what is with 1 today."

The other day I was 2 my car to the supermarket with my friend Sam when we 3 two teens standing by the side of the road with a car wash sign. My car was 4 with spots(灰尘) on, so I pulled over. There 5thirty teenagers around there. There was a group directing（指引) the cars and another group spraying（喷雾） 6 down. As they wiped（擦） over every square inch of my dirty car, I couldn't help wondering why thirty teenagers had devoted（奉献） 7 beautiful Saturday to wash cars—what might be their motivation（动机）?

    Finally, after I handed them a thirty-dollar bill, I asked  8 they were raising money for? They explained to me that a friend of  9 Inn, had recently been ill. His 10 needed money for treatment. He had been to school with the teenagers who there that day and each of them thought he was sweeter than 11  who they had known.  His friend Kevin had decided 12 this car wash together. He told me that they wanted to raise some money to let Inn know that he was always13 them.

    They handed me a bag of homemade cakes with my receipt（收据) and we drove away. I asked Sam14 to me what the tag（标签） tied to the bag said; It said simply, "Thanks, sir, for 15 us to help Inn."

    Yeah! I do know what is with teenagers today!

    Are you looking for something fun? Would you like to help other people in your spare time? Then join us and be a volunteer!

    We are a non-profit organization(非盈利性组织). We have volunteer jobs for people of all ages. Anyone, from twelve-year-old children to people in their 80s, can become a volunteer.

    You can help people in many ways. Schools need help with taking care of children while parents are working. Hospitals need volunteers to look after children while their parents see a doctor. Animal lovers can help take care of those dogs and cats without homes. There is something for everyone.

    "As a volunteer, I don't want to get anything. Seeing the children's happy faces, I am happy, too." said Carlos Domingo, an old woman of 62.

    "I often played computer games in my spare time before. Now I help older people learn how to use computers." said another volunteer at the age of 18.

    If everyone helps out a bit, we'll all have a better world to live in.

    Interested? Call us on 1-800-555-5756. Or visit our website: www. active. Com.

    Five hundred years ago, potatoes grew in South America. They were an important food for the people who lived in these high mountains. In other parts of the world, however, people didn't know about potatoes.

    The Spanish came to South America in the 1500s. They learned of potatoes and took some back to Spain. By 1570, people grew white potatoes in parts of Spain. By 1580, people in Italy were also growing potatoes.

    From Spain, potatoes travelled to France. In France, however, people were afraid to eat this new vegetable. They thought it was bad for health. Then the King of France tried to make his people eat potatoes. But for many years, the French still refused to eat potatoes.

    Potatoes reached England in a different way. In 1586, the English explorer(探险家) Drake stopped in Colombia. There he probably picked up some potatoes and took them back to England. At first, the English refused to eat potatoes, too. They used potatoes to feed their pigs and chickens.

    From England, the potato travelled to Ireland. The potato grew well in the poor soil of Ireland and soon it was an important food for the people in Ireland.

    In the early 1700s, Irish people brought potatoes to North America. By 1750, many people in New England were growing and eating potatoes.

    I still remember quite clearly the day when my parents got divorced (离婚). Dad kissed me goodbye and left.

    For a long time Mum and I lived a peaceful life. Then one day, Jim came over for lunch wearing a blue suit with a short brown tie and a green shirt. I couldn't believe this was going to be my new stepfather. It couldn't be true that my beautiful mother would marry someone who dressed like a clown (小丑）. I hated him.

    Lunch was terrible. Mother kept trying to start a conversation, but neither Jim nor I would say much. Finally I offered to bring in the dessert just to get away from the clown.

Something unpleasant happened, but I didn't mean (故意) to do it. I guess the plate slipped. But one minute I was handing Jim his blackberry pie, and the next, dark purple berries were oozing(渗出） all over his shirt and tie.

    I was mortified. My face turned bright red. Jim looked very much surprised at first, but then he began to laugh. I started to laugh too. Maybe this guy was all right, after all. Then I had a quick look at my mother. She looked happier than I had seen her in a long time.

    Every year, the  (二) Sunday of May is a special day for moms. It's  (mother) Day. It's a good time to show our  (深的) love to our moms.

    In the UK, most children like  (买) presents. Chocolate or flowers are common ideas.

    But doing something for moms is  (也)a good idea. When I was nine years old, I got up earlier on that day. I made a  (美味的) breakfast for my mom. Then I began to clean the living room and do other chores. I hoped my mom would have more time to enjoy  (她自己).

    This year, the day fell on May 11. I live 5,000 miles away from my mom and I'm much (忙碌的).I had to think of another way to show my love. I wrote a 10-line poem and (发送) it to her. I said even though we were thousands of miles away, my  (心) would always be with her—especially on Mother's Day.

Dear Kitty,

    I am sorry that I did not write to you earlier because I have been very busy, I was helping with a charity show to raise money Project Green Hope. A lot of work needed to be finished, so I (not have) much free time. 

    I felt very happy when I (choose) to be the host. It was exciting, but I was also very nervous. I knew that lots of people would watch the show and that many famous pop (star)would come, too. We started working on the show half a year ago so that we could do everything on time. My job was (introduce) each star and I also had many other duties, we practised a lot before the show, I had to remember to look after the right camera at the right time. At first, I thought I would never be (ability) to remember all the words. Slowly, everything became easier.

    The big day came very quickly, and I was so excited, twenty minutes the big event, we opened the doors and many people came into the theatre to watch the show. The fans of the pop stars were making noise, so I had to speak loudly. Everything seemed to happen so fast. A lot of money has been given to Project Green Hope, I hope more events like this will be organized to raise money for charity and I think more people should (invite) to take part in them.

    See you soon.

    Best !

                                                            Ricky

    Welcome to England! The weather of England is very changeable. It can be rainy, sunny, windy, warm, foggy or cold at any time of year. If it's raining when you get up in the morning, it can be hot and dry by the afternoon. The west of England is wetter than the east, and the north is cooler than the south. Just be ready for any kind of weather.

    In England, shops are usually open from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. On Sundays, some shops are open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. But a lot of shops are closed. Banks, museums of other places are open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. You can go to the parks at anytime.

All the cities have buses, trains and taxis. People wait in line for buses and they are unhappy if you push in at the front. Don't forget this—traffic goes on the left. Be careful!

Notice to the Tourists

★Just be ready for any kind of , it's changeable.

★Shops are usually open from to 5:30 pm. On Sundays most of them are closed.

★At any time you can go to the .

★Please wait in line for buses, or others will be .

★Make sure to drive on the , or it will be very dangerous.

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