四川省绵阳市江油市2023-2024学年九年级上学期期末英语...

Henry Ford was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company. He is well known as an inventor. 

In his early teens, Ford showed great interest in machines. By age 15, Ford was very skillful at repairing watches. He could finish a repair within ten minutes. 

Ford was also interested in how things worked. In an experiment with a teapot, he plugged up (堵塞) the spout and watched the water boil. As you can imagine, the teapot exploded (爆). The result was that a mirror and a window were broken. The young inventor was badly hurt. 

Ford's years of curiosity and bravery led him to success. He started to build his first car in

1896. The invention greatly improved people's lives in transport. In 1901, the Henry Ford Company was founded. Ford became a household name with his great success.

Why is the sea salt? Long before we discovered scientific ways of thinking about it, we explained it in a story. Even though the answer isn't scientific, it holds some other truth in it — especially about the human heart.

Long ago, a poor old couple lived on the coast. One day, an old storyteller came to their village. The old couple gave him a meal. In return, he gave them a coffee mill (磨粉机) and said, "Say, ‘Mill, please grind (磨粉)'" and it'll make whatever you want, to stop it, say ‘Mill, please cease (停止) grinding'. "

Soon the old couple had a much better life. They'd been happy people, and they didn't need much more. But the young couple next door were never satisfied. When they saw the old couple wearing good clothes and buying good food, they burnt with envy (羡慕). So one day, the young husband went to the old couple's house secretly and heard, "Mill, please grind hot chocolate! " He was surprised to see it coming out.

Then the young couple stole the mill from the old couple. With it, they rode a horse and set off down the coast, where no one would know them. Along the way, the husband showed proudly and asked, "What do you want it to make?" "Oh. I don't know. Why not salt?" the wife said. "Mill, please grind salt!" he said. "It works!" the wife shouted. But then they noticed the salt went everywhere. "Make it stop, " the wife said. But the husband didn't know how. "Mill, please stop grinding! Please, no more!" His words didn't work. The mill kept grinding. Finally, the young husband threw the mill into the sea as far as he could.

And there it's been, for hundreds of years, endlessly grinding salt. That's why the sea is salt.

If you have to describe yourself to someone else, what will you say? It can be difficult to see yourself from the outside, but knowing who you are, namely self-awareness (自我意识自知之明), can help you understand feelings and make friendships closer. 

Self-awareness means having a good understanding of our own character, that is, having the ability to see ourselves clearly. If you're self-aware, you may know that you love playing an instrument because you do well in it, and music makes you happy, or that you prefer watching TV on your own because it helps you relax.

Knowing what you like and dislike, what you do well in and what you find difficult allows you to make better decisions about friendships, schoolwork and so on. You learn to trust your own feelings more, which builds confidence. The World Health Organization says self-awareness is one of ten important life skills that help young people live happier, healthier lives. Being self-aware doesn't mean only thinking of yourself. By understanding your own feelings, you will better understand other people too.

How do you learn to be self-aware? It's a good way to ask questions. But ask yourself questions that start with "What" instead of "Why". So if you don't understand why you keep arguing with a friend, ask yourself what you disagree on instead of why you're arguing.

Leaning to be more self-aware is a skill, which means you learn it as you grow. So be bold and try out new things, like playing a new sport or listening to different kinds of music. Don't be afraid to dislike something—discovery what you find difficult is a key part of learning more about yourself.

Have you heard of tomato festival? During the festival, there are all kinds of activities, but the most 1  part is the tomato fight. It takes place at the end of the long celebration. 

2  the tomato fight, there are musical bands, street parties and so on. On the day of the fight, shopkeepers 3  their windows and doors to keep away from the tomato fight. At the same time, thousands of tourists and local people come to the town square together. Then large trucks full of tomatoes arrive. From the back of the large trucks, a great town band starts to 4  tomatoes at others. Then the crowds fight back, throwing the tomatoes at anything and anyone. Soon the streets are in the sea of red tomato juice. 

You must squash (压烂) the tomato before throwing it and you are allowed to throw 5 but tomatoes. It is usually over in less than half an hour. Many people are excited about the festival, while others are against it. They think it's a waste of food. What do you think of it?

In your life, you are sure to have met thousands of people. Can you remember everyone's 1 ? Maybe not.

I studied in a nursing school three years ago. During the sixth month there, we had an important 2 . I studied very hard for it. I finished all the questions 3 until I read the last one. "What is the name of the woman who cleans our classroom?"

Just then, I was 4 the question. I saw the woman almost every day but I could only remember what she looked like. How could I know her name? Finally I had to 5 my paper without finishing the last question. My classmates didn't 6 it either.

After class, one of my classmates asked the teacher if the last question would influence our 7 . "Of course, " the teacher said. In our life we will meet a lot of people. Many of them are important and 8 to us, although they might play different roles in our society. Anyway, they are worth (值得) our 9 and care, even if all that we can do is just to smile at them or say hello to them.

I will never 10 the test. Don't ignore (忽视) anyone who should be kindly treated. Sometimes just because of those people, our world changes for the better.

Nowadays, people see small cars that look more like (color) eggs than common cars. These cars (call) the EN-V. They use electricity, run on two wheels instead four and hold only two passengers. People don't need to worry they can park, such small cars or not. They can park (them). So far, the company (build) another electric car named Lean Machine, too. But different EN-V it has three small wheels and only one seat.

Scientists are finding new ways to make cars  (safe) and smarter. New cars may care about your health by reminding you  (take) medicine. They will also help drivers watch out for other drivers and reduce traffic accidents on the street. One day, such small electric cars might carry people around,  (especial) in crowed cities. 

People in Bath, England celebrate the Jane Austen Festival every year. 

Jane Austen is an English writer who was born in Steventon, England, 1775, Austen was mostly educated at home, where she learned how to play the piano, draw and write creatively. She read a lot and later came to enjoy social events such as parties, dances and balls. She disliked the busy life of towns and preferred the country life, where she took to taking long walks. 

In 1801, Jane, her parents and sister moved to Bath. Four years later, her father passed away and the family soon became poor. Austen and her family moved several times until finally settling into a small house in Chawton. It was in this house that she wrote most of her works. 

In March of 1817, Austen got serious health problems and had to stop writing. She died in July of the same year, at the age of only 41. 

Pride and prejudice《傲慢与偏见》, published in 1813, is the most famous novel by Austen. It tells a romantic story between a young woman Elizabeth and a tall, rich, and handsome man, Mr. Darcy. It has been changed into films, televisions and musicals.