浙江省杭州市下城区2017届九年级上学期英语期中考试试卷（含...

When I was 8 years old, I decided to run away from home after a quarrel with my mother. With my suitcase packed and some sandwiches in a bag, I started for the front door.

    My mom asked where I was going. "I'm leaving home," I said.

    "What's that you're carrying?" she asked.

    "Some clothes and food," I replied.

    "If you want to run away, that's all right," she said. "But you came into this home without anything and you can leave the same way."

    I threw my suitcase and sandwiches on the floor and started for the door again.

    "Wait a minute," Mom said. "You didn't have any clothes on when you arrived, and I want them back."

    This infuriated me. I tore my clothes off — shoes, socks, underwear and all — and shouted, "Can I go now?"

    "Yes," my mom answered, "but once you close that door, don't expect to come back."

    I was so angry that I shut the door forcefully and stepped out of my home. Then I noticed that down the street two neighbor girls walking toward our house. I was so shy that I saw the big spruce(云杉) tree in our yard and jumped under the low-hanging branches. A pile of dried-up brown needles(针状物) were beneath the tree, and you can't imagine the pain those sharp needles caused to my body.

    After I was sure the girls had passed by, I dashed to the front door and banged on it loudly. "Who's there?" I heard.

    "It's Billy! Let me in!"

    The voice behind the door answered, "Billy doesn't live here anymore. He ran away from home."

Glancing behind me to see if anyone else was coming, I begged, "Aw, c'mon, Mom! I'm still your son. Let me in!"

    The door inched open and Mom's smiling face appeared. "Did you change your mind about running away?" she asked.

    "What's for supper?" I smiled back.

    A major development to self-driving cars may change the way we will drive in the future. Google, the leading company in self-driving technology, has changed its develop plan. It had driverless cars built by car factories, but now it will start building its own cars.

    Google has started to build some kinds of experimental electric self- driving cars that look like a Smart car or Fiat 500. There is no steering wheel(方向盘), gas pedal or brake. The only things a human passenger controls are a red "e-stop" button (按钮) for fear stops and a start button. The car's only "friendly" face is designed to make it help people accept self-driving technology.

Google workers took part in a long experiment, in which they used self-driving cars for their usual travel to work. No accident happened, but Google's heads realized that depending on a human passenger to drive in an emergency(紧急情况) wouldn't work because they may be reading, working , or sleeping. Now the self-driving car drives by itself if the driver takes his hands off the wheel for over ten seconds.

Google recently announced that its cars had covered 700,000 miles of public roads, and they were now running in busy city streets. People who love self-driving cars say this will improve transport by making roads safer, cutting down accident, and making less pollution.

    Of course, there's no need to look for parking at a crowded shopping mall. Instead, users could let their self-driving cars drop them off to park itself. A mother who took a test ride said that having the car would allow her more time to catch up with her son. The cars could also allow people who might not be able to drive to enjoy the hand-free driving. And drunk driving? Not a problem. It is very likely that by 2020, driverless cars will be common. Do you believe so?

    Losing a baby tooth can be fun for a kid. You can put it under your pillow and look forward to finding some money there in the morning. And then you can watch your new permanent(永恒的) tooth grow in its place.

    But if a permanent tooth falls out, that's a problem. There isn't another one under the gum(齿龈)that can replace it. Unluckily, this happens to some older people. And if permanent teeth fall out or need to be pulled, an older person might need dentures.

    Dentures, known as false(假的) teeth, are a set of replacement teeth for any teeth that are missing. There are partial dentures, which take the place of only a few teeth and prevent the others from changing position. If all the teeth are gone, the person would need complete dentures, which replace every tooth in the mouth.

Dentures can cause pains at first and take little time to get adjusted to. They also need special care. They should be brushed daily with a special denture brush and cleanser and soaked(浸泡) in denture solution(溶液) when not in the mouth.

    Dentures are important for the old because, without teeth, it's hard to smile, talk, and eat properly. But it can be a little weird if you see someone take out his or her dentures. It can also be strange to see someone, like a grandparent, without dentures in because he or she won't have any teeth. Try not to make fun of the person because this could cause hurt feelings.

    People usually lose their permanent teeth due to periodontal disease（牙周炎）, or gum disease, which is caused by bacteria that attacks the gums. Diseased gums aren't strong and healthy, so teeth can get loose and fall out. Older people often have many cavities(洞)that have been filled over the years, and these fillings can weaken over time, leading to more tooth problems.

    Besides the spelling of the word, there are, clearly, many differences between American and British humor.

    There is a common belief in the U.K. that Americans don't understand irony (讽刺). This is of course not true. Irony may show up in American comedies(喜剧), but people there don't use it as much as the British do in daily life.

    It actually runs in the blood of the British people. They use it as much as prepositions(介词) in everyday conversations, as a way of playing with their friends and laughing at their enemies, as well as themselves. This may sometimes make people unhappy if the listeners are not used to it.

    After Americans use irony, they will clearly say that they are "only kidding". They feel the need to make a joke clearer so that it will not make other people uncomfortable.

    Humor is tied so much to culture. American jokes are more clear and forward, a bit like Americans themselves. This may result from the fact that British culture is more reserved(矜持的) than American culture.

    However, we still find that certain American comedies have made huge success in Britain and vice versa(反之亦然).

    I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people 1 I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a 2 person.

    I think my change started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my 3 and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever 4 to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really 5. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So I tried an experiment. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble, I offered to help. That was really a big 6 for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of them are still my best friends today. 

    A bigger cause of my new 7, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer's disease(老年痴呆症) became my 8. Every time I came into her room, she was so 9 because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never 10her, so I took her place. She let me 11 that making others feel good made me feel good, too. When she died, I was heartbroken, but I was very grateful to her.

    I think I am a much 12 person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not 13 these experiences. They have 14 me to care about other people more than about myself. I 15 who I am today, but I could not say that a few years ago.

    Encouragement is necessary for humans to develop and work hard. It helps people keep going. Here is a story of a simple note of praise. This note helped many people understand the (important) of giving praise to other people.

    Robert Brooks is a psychologist (心理学家) now. He remembers the time when he was just a young man. He was in training to be a psychologist. He had to give a (speak) in front of a large group of people. And, he was very nervous. He did not like speaking in front of people. But his speech was very important.

    Robert gave his speech. He did a good job. But he did not have the chance to hear other people thought. Later that same day Robert looked into his mail box and (find) a small note there. The note (simple) said, "You did a great job today, Robert." Robert was very surprised and happy to see the note. It made him feel very good. And, Robert believes that that small note helped him through the rest of (he) training. He felt like he was able to do a good job.

    Now a psychologist, he teaches people how important it is to give praise to other people. He tells them the story of the simple note that he received. He tells them that the words on the note had power. Those words helped him to continue doing a good job. One day, a businessman, who had (attend) Robert's lecture, decided to take Robert's ideas to heart.

    The more this businessman encouraged his workers, the (happy) they were. "The atmosphere in our company changed. We enjoyed working. We began to encourage each other too," said one of the （worker）. "People seemed happier. But, most important of all, a greater spirit of team work developed," the businessman added.

⒈How do you exercise? Do you change the way to exercise?

⒉What's your favorite sport? What are the advantages of your way to exercise?