Air is a colorless,tasteless and invisible gas that is around us. An “empty” drinking glass and an “empty” room,in fact,are not really empty. Each is filled with air. When the glass is filled with water,the water pushes the air out of the glass.

   Air,as gas,has no definite shape,but because it is matter,it takes up space and it has weight. It is easy to show that air is something that takes up space. Stuff a piece of dry cloth into the bottom of a glass so that it will not fall out when the glass is turned upside down. Push the upside-down glass,holding straight up and down,into a jar of water till the glass is completely covered. When the glass is taken out of the water,the cloth is still dry. The air inside the glass shows that it takes up space and keeps the water from coming in.

() 1. Why air has no definite shape? Because .

   A. it's a mixture   B. it's a kind of gas   C. it is matter   D. it is nothing

() 2. Since air is matter,it has .

   A. neither shape nor room

   B. both room and shape as well

   C. either shape or weight

   D. both room and weight

() 3. The underlined word “stuff” means .

   A. to take away   B. to fill with   C. to cover   D. to cut off

   A. the experiment must be carried out in the space

   B. this kind of experiments must be done in the lab

   C. the experiment is made in the room

   D. this kind of experiments can only be done in the open air

() 5. Which of the following pictures gives us the correct result of the experiment?

(W=water,A=air,C= cloth)

  Life is like potato salad;when it’s shared it becomes a picnic.

   When my three children were young,my husband,Roy, and I were very 1 ,even on weekends.

   “Can we go on a picnic,Mom?” my six-year-old daughter,Becky begged (祈求) . “Please. ”

   I had said no so many times in the 2 months,and I decided the usual Saturday morning chores could wait. To her 3 ,I agreed.

   I prepared a few sandwiches and 4 a cooler with ice and drinks and called Roy 5 . My eleven- year-old twin sons put the cooler and the picnic basket in the trunk and off we went to spend some 6 time together as a family.

   About the time I got the lunch spread out (铺开) on the 7 ,Roy arrived just 8 .

   That was one of the happiest meals we ever shared together. The meal was filled with laughter. We felt a closeness that had been hidden by work and school 9 for so many months. Roy and the boys skipped rocks into the lake. Becky fed the ducks and I sat quietly at the picnic table,10 God for blessing me with such a wonderful family.

   That night as our 11 went to bed,I kissed their cheeks and realized what a wonderful life I had.

   As I walked out of the room I realized that even during the busiest 12 we could have a picnic when it's shared with the ones you love.

   Even though the kids have now grown up and 13 from home,I can still remember how I felt that day while sitting at the picnic table.

   Maybe today would be a good time to 14 potato salad,so call all of my grown kids,feed some hungry ducks and skipped a few rocks into the lake. Since life is like potato salad,let's make it a 15 .(浙 江省杭州市2011—2012学年八年级第二学期全科竞赛英语试卷)

() 1. A. old   B. poor   C. busy   D. miserable

() 2. A. coming   B. recent   C. following   D. later

() 3. A. happy   B. excited   C. sadness   D. surprise

() 4. A. made   B. put   C. did   D. filled

() 5. A. off work   B. at home   C. at work   D. on business

() 6. A. unhappy   B. cheerful   C. busy   D. excited

() 7. A. table   B. grassland   C. rocks   D. car

() 8. A. in time   B. over the time   C. on time   D. at the time

() 9. A. orders   B. charges   C. activities   D. duties

() 10. A. praying (祈祷)   B. praising   C. thanking   D. trusting (信任)

() 11. A. family   B. children   C. friends   D. parents

() 12. A. lifestyle   B. time   C. world   D. family

() 13. A. left alone   B. passed away   C. ran away   D. moved away

() 14. A. supply   B. cook   C. watch   D. plant

() 15. A. salad   B. life   C. picnic   D. hope

用方框中所给单词的适当形式填空，使短文完整正确。(每个单词限用一次)    like,without,catch,run,ring,photo,four,kilometer,take,ago 

   The police in a big city were looking for a thief. At last they caught him. But while they 1 photos of him—from the front,from the left,from the right,with a hat,2 a hat—he suddenly hit (袭击) the policemen and 3 away. They tried 4 him,but he got away.

   Then a week later,the telephone 5 in the police office,and someone said ,“ You are looking for Bill Cross,aren’t you? ”

   “ Yes.”

   “ Well,he left here for Water Bridge an hour 6 . ”

   Water Bridge was a small town about 100 7 away from the city. The city police at once sent different 8 to the police in the Water Bridge.

   “We have caught three thieves that look 9 the escaped (逃跑) one”’ they said proudly ,“and we think we’ll catch the 10 this evening. ”

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

          Differences in bicycling between China and other countries 

   People all over the world ride bicycles. But there are many differences between China and other countries.

   Wearing helmets (头盔) 

   You may think helmets are useless. But you are wrong. In many places kids have to wear them when they ride bikes. In some places of the United States,it's against the law (违反法律) for kids under 16 to ride without helmets. Many people say that helmets are like seat belts (安全带) for bikes.

   Bike lanes (车道) 

   In China,bicycles have their own special lanes on the road. People can ride next to cars. In the USA. roads are only for cars. People don't ride their bikes to school or work. But this isn’t true everywhere in the West. In the Netherlands (荷兰) there are more bikes than people. The whole country has bicycle lanes. 

   Riding for fun 

   Do you ride your bike to school? In China this is very common. But in the USA. kids only ride their bikes for fun on the weekend. They regard bicycling as a sport. Many cities have special parks. People turn old railways (铁路) into bike roads. People can ride from town to town.(陕西省西安市庆安中学 2011 —2012 学年 八年级下学期期中考试英语试题)

1. What are the differences between China and other countries in bicycling?

are the differences between China and other countries in bicycling.

2. Which country has the law that everyone under 16 must wear a helmet while riding?

has the law that everyone under 16 must wear a helmet while riding.

3. What do many people think of helmets?

They think that helmets are for bikes.

4. Which country has more bikes than people?

there are more bikes than people.

5. What do Americans regard bicycling as and how do they do?

They regard it as ; they build some special and turn into bike roads.

  The best way of learning a language is using it. The best way of learning English is talking in English as much as possible. Sometimes you’ll get your words mixed up (混淆) and people will not understand you. Sometimes people will say things too quickly and you can't understand them. But if you keep your sense of humor (幽默感) ，you can always have a good laugh at your mistakes you make. Don’t be unhappy if people seem to be laughing at your mistakes. It's better for people to laugh at your mistakes than to be angry with you,because they don't understand what you are saying. The most important thing for learning English is： “Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because everyone makes mistakes (犯错) . ”

() 7. The writer thinks that the best way for you to learn a language is.

   A. writing in it   B. using it

   C. listening to it   D. learning its grammar

() 8. What should you do in learning English?

   A. We should be careful not to make any mistakes.

   B. We should write as quickly as we can.

   C. We should speak English as much as we can.

   D. we should laugh more often.

() 9. When you make a mistake,you should.

   A. keep quiet   B. get angry

   C. be kind   D. keep your sense of humor

() 10. The story tells us that .

   A. only foolish (愚蠢的) people make mistakes

   B. few people make mistakes

   C. people never make mistakes

   D. there is no one who doesn’t make mistakes

  Mark Twain was famous in his days as a public speaker. In his public speeches he always liked to tell funny stories. He also liked to listen to funny stories and play jokes on his friends.

   One day one of his friends lost his wallet but asked Mark Twain to pay his train fare (车费) for him.

   “But I don't have enough money to pay both your fare and mine”’Mark Twain said. The friend didn't know what to do.

   “We can do this”’said Mark Twain. “We can get on the train and when the conductor (列车员) comes to check the tickets,you can hide (藏) under my seat. ”

   Later,however,when the conductor came to check the tickets,Mark Twain gave him two tickets一one for his friend and one for himself. Then he explained in a loud voice. uMy friend here is a strange man. When he travels on a train,he doesn’t like to sit on the seat. He prefers (宁愿) to lie on the floor under the seat. ” Of course everybody in the train looked at the poor friend and laughed at him loudly.

() 4. Mark Twain told him he couldn’t buy him a ticket because.

   A. he didn't have enough money

   B. he wanted to play a joke (玩笑) on him

   C. he wanted to save some money

   D. he didn't find his wallet,either

() 5. When the conductor came to check the tickets,the friend was.

   A. lying under the seat   B. sitting on the seat

   C. lying on the seat   D. standing nearby

() 6. Mark Twain spoke in a loud voice because.

   A. the conductor was standing far away

   B. his friend was deaf (聋)

   C. he enjoyed doing so

   D. he wanted all the people here to know there was a man under the seat

  Bruce and his other two friends,Bruno and Dick lived in the same city in England. They were free in their summer holiday. So they came to a village by a large lake. They liked fishing very much. Then the next day after they got there,they got a boat and went fishing in the lake. They boated farther and farther. They came to an out-of-way place. They were very happy because there were a lot of fish. When it was time for them to go home,Bruce said to his friends ,“We’d better make a mark (标记) here so that we will easily find the place tomorrow. ”

   “You’re right ,” Bruno said happily. “Let me do that. ”

   “How foolish ,” said Bruce. “If it rains tonight,the rain water will wash the line (线) off,and how can we find the mark tomorrow? You must cut a line with your knife. ”

   Dick came up to them and said angrily ,“ Neither (两者都不) of you is clever. How can we find the place if we have another boat tomorrow? We should not go back tonight. ”

() 1. The three boys .

   A. were all too young to go to school   B. came from the city

   C. were from the workers families   D. liked eating fish very much

() 2. The boys wanted to go to the place again tomorrow because .

   A. it was a good place

   B. there were a lot of fish

   C. there was a mark on the side of the boat

   D. they were good at fishing

() 3. They should make a mark .

   A. thicker and color it red   B. on the fish

   C. in the lake   D. on every boat

  Tom is the son of a farm owner. One New Year^ Day,when he was 15 ,his father 1 him to work on the farm for one year when he was free. Tom was 2 with his father's idea. “That isn’t my job. I have 3 school work to do. ” Hearing this,his father said ,“I promise (许诺) to give you the best present (礼 物) if you 4 finish one year's work. ” Tom thought for a while and 5 .

   Starting one Saturday,the boy got up early and worked 6 until evening,just like any other farmer. Time passed quickly. Tom's crops (庄稼) grew well. 7 the last day of the year,the father said ,“I'm happy to see that you have worked very hard the whole year. Now,tell me 8 you want. ”

   The boy smiled and showed his father a big piece of bread made from his wheat (小麦) . “I've already got the 9 present. No pains,no gains (不劳无获) . I think this is what you wanted 10 to know. ”His father was quite pleased to hear that.(陕西省西安市庆安中学2011 — 2012学年八年级下学期期中考试英语试 题)

() 1. A. asked   B. let   C. made   D. stopped

() 2. A. happy   B. unhappy   C. excited   D. sorry

() 3. A. much too   B. so little   C. too much   D. a lot

() 4. A. shall   B. must   C. need   D. can

() 5. A. said   B. answered   C. agreed   D. began

() 6. A. hard   B. hardly   C. slowly   D. difficultly

() 7. A. At   B. On   C. In   D. By

() 8. A. where   B. which   C. how   D. what

() 9. A. least   B. worst   C. best   D. fewest

() 10. A. mine   B. I   C. my   D. me

  The weekend is usually a time of rest. B 1 today’s Chinese students cannot rest during the weekends. According to a survey (据调查) ，24% of the junior students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the Junior 3 have less t 2 eight hours’ sleep each night because o 3 too much study. Ji Ping,a junior student in Guangzhou,h 4 to get up at 6：30 a. m. on Saturday. Then she has a whole day of classes. On Sunday she goes to extra classes for math and English. But she doesn’t complain (抱怨) . She says that a 5 her classmates work hard on Sunday. Liu Yang is from Dalian. As a Junior 2 student,his weekends are less busy. But he also spends Saturday in school. On Sunday,after d 6 homework,he plays basketball. He feels happy b 7 he still has time to do the things he likes. A few students are a little luckier. Yang Qing,a Junior 3 student from Zibo,Shandong,is o 8 of them. And she is a top student. During the weekends,she usually gets up at 8 ： 00. Then she s 9 some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV. “Don’t push yourself too much. Learning well at school is e 10 ，” she said.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

  My dear friends,what do you often do at the weekends or on holidays? Do you like going hiking? Most people enjoy hiking,especially in spring or autumn.

   Hiking is a healthy activity. But do you know why many people like going hiking? The reason why people go hiking is different from one another. Here are some of the most important reasons for people to hike.

   (1) First,hiking is a kind of good , and it is good for your and it does not hurt your body. You can relax (放松) yourself during the hiking. And you can get fresh air,too.

   Second,hiking is easy and cheap. All you need to do is to wear a pair of hiking shoes to start.

   (2) At last,hiking is the best way to get away from your everyday life. You could hike alone or go with your family or your good friends. And you can have a picnic together during hiking.

   So why not plan your hiking day right now? Let's go hiking together!(江苏泰州)

1. 在(1) 句的空白处分别填入一个适当的词使句意完整、上下文通顺。     

2. 将(2) 句译成中文。

3. 回答问题：How many reasons for hiking are there in the passage?

4. 在文中找出与 You just need to wear a pair of trainers to start your hiking.意思相近的句子。

5. 在文中找出最能表达该短文主题的句子。