江苏省扬州市仪征市2017届英语中考二模试卷

—There are some apple pies on the table, you may take ________.

— I'm terribly sorry. Just as I ________, Mr. Smith asked me to send an e-mail for him.

—Yes, when we have problems with our homework, he always ________ them to us clearly.

—Just so so, I tried to find a place to park my car near He Garden, but they were all ______.

—You've got enough money for ________, and you can still get five dollars back.

—Yes. Now I know it's famous for its natural beauty.

—Mmm, yes. Photography is enjoyable and __________. What do you think of it?

—Just as the saying goes, “____________.” It is bad for his health to stay up too late.

—________ are OK.

— Yes, I think ________, you should love English, then you need lots of practice.

— Really? We wonder if not in Yangzhou, ________.

—When my mom is at home, I have to every day, but she's away this week!

—______,but I promised to go swimming with Eric.

    The day before my daughter Norah's fourth birthday, I picked her up from preschool. On the way, she said, “I like old people best because they walk slowly like I walk slowly and they have soft skin like I have soft skin.”What she said marked a 1beginning.

    The following day—her birthday—again on the way home, she asked 2 we could stop at the store to buy cakes for her. How could I say3 to a birthday girl? After paying for the bill, I noticed that Norah was standing up in the cart,4announcing, “Hi, old person! It's my birthday today!” However, the old man in front of her didn't show he was5 by my talkative child. He 6 with a smile, “Well, little lady! And how old are you today?” After a few minutes' chat, Norah offered to take a photo with the old man called Mr. Dan, his expression changed from surprised to delighted. We exchanged our phone numbers. There was magic happening in the store that day, and we could 7 feel it.

    During our first visit in Mr. Dan's home, We walked with him to his front door. He pulled out a knife and 8the only blooming red rose. He spent ten minutes cutting every thorn（刺）9 the stem（茎）before handing it to his new friend. Norah keeps that rose, now10as a bone, under her pillow for a long time.

    Norah asks about Mr. Dan every day. She worries about him. She wonders if he's 11 or cold. She wants him to be OK. She wants him to feel loved. Mr. Dan thinks about Norah too. After 12 recent visit, he said that he had 13 had a whole night's sleep since his wife died. “Norah has healed me since meeting her.” he said. That left me 14 and my eyes wet with tears. Somehow, their hearts and souls seem to recognize each other from long ago. Sometimes talking to strangers can 15 beautiful new beginnings.

    I arrived in Cali, the second largest city in Colombia. The sun was truly shining. Cali was great, the people were friendly and helpful. One thing I knew about Colombia before I came was the coffee. I drank it every day while dreaming about South American adventures in my cold, wet hometown of England.

    What I wasn't prepared for was the beauty there. Even the bus ride was a pleasure. I never thought I would say like this in South America. The landscape was so unexpected, I didn't imagine Colombia to have this much beauty. There lay fresh mountain waterfalls as well as luminous green hills at every turn, it was so amazing!

    Bogota was my next stop. In the beginning, I thought it was a boring city with nothing different from any other. Then I opened my eyes and my heart. It attracted me. The smiles from the locals were infectious(有感染力的), love poured from their hearts.

    For me, Bogota and the Colombian people changed my view on everything. I took a walk alone one night to pick up some goods. It was dark, and I was in a strange neighborhood.Yet all I could think about was how safe I felt, I almost felt like I was in my local town. People smiled and carried on with their own business. I walked more slowly and stayed for longer, that moment, I knew I had to change foreigners' opinion on Colombia.

    Thinking about the last month in Colombia, I couldn't believe how much I had fallen in love with it. I've done seven countries in seven months and over twenty-five in my lifetime, and Colombia is right up there at number one! It was like a holiday romance.I will always love Colombia and anyone that tells you it is dangerous has obviously never been there before.

Have you ever read stories of Sherlock Holmes—a famous detective? Here is one of his cases.

Stapleton, Charles' younger brother, found that he would inherit (继承) the Baskerville lands if Charles and his nephew(侄子) —Henry both died.

    Charles who had a weak heart believed super natural stories. After knowing this, Stapleton had the idea of buying a huge hound, and of using the phosphorus(磷) to make it shine like the hound in one story.

    Then Stapleton asked his friend Laura to write a letter to bring Charles to the moor gate on that sad night. The hound, which was shining with phosphorus, chased Charles down the Yew Alley. Charles' fear was so great that his weak heart stopped, and he died but the animal did not touch the dead body. There was no sign of murder. It was difficult for Holmes to find the murderer.

    Two weeks later, Stapleton learned that Henry had reached England. He took his wife and the hound with him. He wore a false beard and followed Henry in London. He wanted to use the same way to murder Henry there. He needed something to give the hound Henry's smell, so he paid a woman at Henry's hotel to steal one of his shoes. The first one was a new one, which was no use for the hound, so it was put back. And then another older shoe was stolen. Before he was ready to murder Henry, he wasn't sure if his wife would keep his secret, so he did not tell her the truth. He locked her up in their hotel. She knew that he must have some evil plans. She sent Henry a letter which was made of words cut from a newspaper.

    After receiving the letter, Henry realized he was in great danger and it must have something to do with his uncle Charles' death. So he asked Holmes for help.

    California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a law for driverless cars to travel on public roadways, showing once again that Left Coast has a way of making car-makers develop faster.

    It is not that smart minds in Japan and Germany aren't already working on driverless cars. But with most new technologies, engineers want to make sure that they are safe enough before large production. The California law will allow them to travel on the state's roadways if there is an experienced driver sitting in the driving seat to take over if needed.

    “Today, we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality,” Gov. Brown said during a news conference at Google's headquarters. “This driverless car is another step forward in this long march of California and leading not just the country, but the whole world.”

    The state often uses stricter laws to control greenhouse gases and global warming, which was strongly against by most car-makers in other states, saying it would be impractical for each state to make its own fuel standards. However, the U.S. EPA(环境保护署) sided with California . At last all sides reached an agreement, but the push from California undoubtedly influenced the EPA's sharply higher fuel standards, which require car-makers to achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

    When it comes to driverless cars, California is actually the third state to authorize(批准) them, behind Nevada and Florida. But by far it is the most influential. “It's meaningful because California is a big state, a first mover and really a big player,” Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who studies autonomous transport law, told the New York Times.

    Sam and Tom were identical(同样的) twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it dto tell one from the other. But except for their looks, everything else about them was different.

    Tom had no friends, wSam was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but Tom loved spicy food and hsweets. Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!

    As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to shis fortune equally. However, Tom did not agree, and he argued that whoever proved to be smarter and stronger would have to get a bshare of the wealth.

    Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition bthe two. He asked the two sons to walk as long as they could, and return home before sunset.

    The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom ran qas he aimed at winning the race and gained a greater portion of his father's wealth.

    Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible till noon, and start for home at noon, as it would take the same amount of time to walk back home. Kthis, Sam decided to turn back for home at noon so as to reach home on time.

    However, Tom, with his greed to earn more w didn't try to return home even after mid-noon. He walked twice as long as Sam, and thought he would still be able to return home before sunset. U he lost the race at last only because of his greed.

    If you're away from home, feeling a bit blue or searching for some comfort, the Danes have a solution. It's called “hygge”. Coming from Danish culture, but popularized by the British in 2016, hygge is much more than just a word, it's becoming a feeling around the world.

    The hygge refers to the sense of happiness you get when your family is gathered together at new year or Christmas. It is all about the pleasant feelings of home: the smell of your mother's cooking, your partner's arm around your shoulder and so on.

    Hygge is an antidote(良药) to stress. You know when you've got it, a gentle warmth starts spreading through your body. Another important part of hygge is that it has nothing to do with modern technology. It's a period time to relax your tired mind and eyes. So, put down that smartphone and turn off the computer.

    You should also know that hygge is not about healthy eating or more exercise. In fact, it's just the opposite. You're supposed to be lost in what you like: enjoy sweet snacks and calorie-laden cakes freely.

    Let yourself be carried on a wave of nostalgia(怀旧) back to your birthplace, and remember  the childhood songs of your distant youth with a smile. If it helps, wrap yourself in a warm blanket and sleep with one of your favorite books (not a pill or e-reader).

    If Denmark seems too far, then think of old Beijing with its hutong and courtyard houses. Picture yourself sit around a traditional stove with your loved ones, eating dumplings and chatting about the old days. Let yourself drift back in time to a period where everything is relaxing, and there is no need to reply to any e-mails or text messages. They did not exist(存在) back then.

    Now you've really understood hygge without even having to set foot in Copenhagen.

要求：

1）表达清楚，语法正确，上下文连贯；

2）必须包括提示中的所有信息，并按要求适当发挥；

3）词数：100词左右；

4）不得使用真实姓名、校名和地名等。

参考词汇：瘦西湖 the Slender West Lake

A trip in Yangzhou

This March, I visited an ancient city—Yangzhou.