MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a food additive (食品添加剂), which has been widely used by many food factories all over the world since it appeared first in Japan in 1909.
MSG is a substance that is added to some food to improve its original (原先的) taste and colour. It is used in foods around the world such as cakes, bread, frozen meats, fish and vegetables. In the beginning, people thought MSG was safe just like salt and sugar. However, in 1968 some people reported they seemed to have bad reactions (反应) to MSG after having had a meal at a restaurant. They included headaches and quick heartbeat (心跳). It was also reported that MSG excited a person's brain and caused his death in Japan. Scientists think that MSG may lead to many neurological disorders (神经紊乱). In mice studies done by a university, the evidence showed the mice didn’t want to eat the food including MSG.
Today many food companies “hide” MSG on food labels (标签) by using different names. If you see “natural flavorings”, “hydrolyzed protein” and “spices” in a food label, you are probably seeing a hidden way to “report” MSG in a food label. Every time we have a meal in a restaurant, we always feel the food very delicious to taste, but sometimes it is dangerous for our health because some poisonous food additives have been added to the food.
To protect people’s health, our governments, from central to local, are taking actions to stop factories producing poisonous food additives.
1. Monosodium Glutamate is _______.
A. a food B. an additive
C. a factory D. a country
2. MSG is often used in _______.
A. frozen meats B. cups
C. clothes D. book covers
3.The examples in the second paragraph tell us ________.
A. the food including MSG is delicious
B. people like to eat in a restaurant
C. mice like eating the food including MSG
D. MSG is not safe sometimes
4. If you see “natural flavorings”, “hydrolyzed protein” and “spices” in a food label, you will know________.
A. you must eat the food in a hidden way
B. the food label must be hidden
C. MSG is probably added to the food
D. you must report the food to your parents
5. The underlined word “substance” in the article means __________.
A. colour B. material C. taste D. Food
Sheep always follow each other and never really think about where they are going. Perhaps fashion makes us into “sheep”. Maybe we should find our own way and not follow the crowd. Everyone wants to wear top brand clothing. However, we should remember that clothes designers(设计师) study what ordinary people wear on the street. Then they make clothes like ordinary people’s for everyone. Therefore, fashion really starts with individual(个人的) finding a new look. Then a company uses that look and then it becomes fashionable! That doesn’t mean you will. That is to say, a model might look perfect in a shirt but that doesn’t mean you will.
The same goes for mobile phones. Young people are always asking me when to change my mobile phones. Mobile phone companies are always putting new functions on their phones but do we really need all these extra functions? I use my phone to call people and to send messages to my friends. I don’t need a camera, Internet surfing or a calendar on my phone. Again, if you buy the latest phone, it will only be the latest phone for a month or so. Then something new will come out and you’ll be unfashionable again. You can’t keep up with fashion all the time, so you don’t need to follow the fashion.
1. The underlined word “sheep” means”________.”
A. a kind of animal which is white
B. people who always follow the fashion
C. honest people who want to be fashionable
D. black sheep which break laws
2.Clothes designers study what you wear on the street because______________.
A. they want to design fashion clothes
B. they like your clothes
C. they want to buy the clothes you wear
D. your clothes are ugly
3. If you have a model’s clothes on, you________
A. are sure to be beautiful B. will become a model
C. will be smarter D. may not look perfect
4. The passage is written mainly to _________.
A. explain what sheep are
B. tell us to buy new mobile phones
C. tell us not to be “sheep”
D. tell students not to care about the clothes
5.What can we infer from the article?
A. Sheep which are out of date have been killed.
B. The writer is a person who always follows the fashion.
C. Fashion only exists among those fashion models.
D. Fashion changes so quickly that we can hardly keep up with it.
On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway (快车道). He looked to be in his late 40s but was probably a lot younger. He had shoulder length straight black hair and a short beard.
Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, while coming off the ramp (坡道). So did he. Sometimes the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, “I’m blessed!”
Then one day I was called into my boss’s office and was told that I was being laid off. For the rest of that day all I could think of was “how am I going to provide for my kids as a mother, how am I going to pay rent?”
Needless to say that on my way home that day I was very sad and upset. I didn’t remember to look for my spare change and keep it ready like I usually did. Yet there he was as always, as I turned the ramp. He set his eyes on me, while still smiling and waving at others as usual.
While I was waiting for the red light to turn, he strolled (闲逛) over to my car. He had a big smile. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, “Today I will give you a dollar.” He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.
You see that day he taught me a valuable lesson more than a dollar bill. No matter what material things are taken from you, no one can take away your choice to be joyful. Every time I’m faced with challenges, I think of the homeless man’s valuable lesson and remember that I am blessed.
1. The writer would have a short conversation with the homeless man when .
A. she waited for the red light to turn
B. she gave spare change to him
C. she had a good time that day
D. she wanted to know how he lived
2. Why did the writer feel sad and upset after out of the boss’s office?
A. Because she was criticized by the boss.
B. Because a new job was offered to her.
C. Because she was laid off by the boss.
D. Because there was something wrong with her job.
3.What is NOT true about the homeless man from the passage?
A. He would be seen at the exit of the freeway.
B. He usually smiled and waved at others.
C. He had a deep impression on the writer.
D. He felt joyful only when money was offered to him.
4.The homeless man gave the writer a dollar because .
A. he had collected a lot of money B. he wanted to pay back her
C. he knew what she experienced D. he wanted her to be happy
5. The writer learned from the story that .
A. a dollar bill will be enough to make you happy
B. each of us has been blessed all the time
C. whenever it is, we should choose to help others
D. it is more than money that brings us happiness
书面表达
Joy是“Heart To Heart”电台的主持人，是同学们的“知心姐姐”。昨天，她收到一名九年级学生Simon的信，向她诉说了很多苦恼。假如你是Joy，请你回复他的来信。
Simon’s problems | Joy’s suggestions |
学习英语有困难，害怕英语考试不及格。 | 要有自信，为下一次考试做好充分的准备。 |
朋友少，不知找谁倾诉。 | 多交朋友，跟同学和老师分享快乐、分担烦恼。 |
作业多，不得不熬夜到很晚。 | 自拟……(至少一点) |
要求：1．围绕以上表格内容进行合理表述；
2．所表述的内容必须包含表中的所有方面；
3．100-120词左右，开头和结尾已给出。（不计入总词数）。
Dear Simon,
Thanks for telling me about your problems!
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Wish you good luck!
Yours sincerely,
Joy
任务型阅读
下面是有关“如何自制电话”的说明，请根据图片所示步骤，从A～E中选择正确的选项与图片配对，完成1～5小题。
What we need：two plastic cups，a ball of thin string(绳子)，scissors(剪刀)，a pencil.
How to make a string phone：
1._________
2._________
3._________
4._________
5._________
A. Tie a knot(打结) in each end to keep the string in place .
B. Cut a string . About ten to twenty meters is OK .
C. Give your friend one of the cups while you take the other . Move away from each other so that the string is straight . Take turns to talk into a cup while the other listens through their cup at the other end .
D. Use the pencil to make a small hole in the bottom of each cup .
E. Put one end of the string through the holes so that the ends are inside the cups .
根据短文内容和所给中文提示，写出空白处各单词的正确形式。
In my _1. __ (看法)，helping others is helping ourselves. This story tells us the truth .
One day, a __2.__ （口渴的）bee went to a river to drink. As he was drinking, suddenly the bee was carried away by the running water in the __3._（小溪）. He tried his best to swim towards the bank of the river, but __4.__（失败）. His life hung by a single thread . Just at that time , a kind bird flew over. Seeing that the bee was in great _5. __（困境）, the bird picked a leaf off the tree and threw it into the river. The bee climbed onto the leaf and it was _6.__ （带来）safely to the land. He was so thankful to the bird for saving his life.
Not long after that , the bird was sitting on the branch of a tree . He didn`t know that not far from him, a man raised his gun and was about to shoot at _7. __（他）. However, it happened that the bee saw that. He_ 8.__（意识到） what the situation was like . As quickly as he could, he flew into the man`s _9.__（眼睛）and stung him. The pain in his eyes was so great that the man had to give up shooting at the bird.
In this way , the bee, whose life had been saved by the bird, was_10._（能） to save the life of the bird.
