For Serena Aunon-Chancellor, joining the Young Astronauts Club was more than an after-school hobby, it was the very beginning of her journey to space!

Serena was born on April 9, 1976, in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. When she was growing up in the 1980s, NASA launched space shuttles(发射航天飞机) many times a year. One day as she was watching a shuttle launch on TV, Serena’s father said, “You want to work for NASA? You need to be an engineer.” Serena’s father was an engineer himself. And he was right: half of all astronauts have studied engineering. From then on, Serena planned to be an engineer.

When she turned sixteen, Serena’s parents gave her an amazing gift—a weekly trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. Her experiences at Space Camp showed Serena that her childhood dream was possible. In college, Serena got a degree in electrical engineering. After that, she attended medical school and studied aerospace medicine.

In 2006, Serena worked as a flight surgeon(航空医师) at NASA, helping astronauts in the United States and Russia. She loved helping through medicine, but she still wanted to be an astronaut. Every year thousands of people apply to the astronaut training program and only ten to fifteen people are chosen. In 2009, Serena got the phone call she had been hoping for since she was a kid: She was chosen to be an astronaut!

Last June, Serena flew to space for the first time! While in space, she lived aboard the International Space Station and did scientific studies. Think of her the next time you look to the stars!

1.Why did Serena plan to be an engineer?

A. She had interest in engineering.

B. It was a popular job at that time.

C. Her father wanted her to do the same job as him.

D. It could make it possible for her to work for NASA.

2.The weeklong trip to Space Camp made Serena realize that _______________.

A. being sixteen was amazing B. she needed to go to college

C. being an astronaut was possible D. she should have a bigger dream

3.What did Serena do in 2006?

A. She worked to help astronauts through medicine. B. She attended medical school in the USA.

C. She trained for an astronaut training program. D. She went to college in Russia.

4.Serena was chosen to be an astronaut when she was _______________.

A. 26 B. 29 C. 30 D. 33

5.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. A dream comes true B. Women in space

C. An amazing gift D. Life in space

Mukbang, a South Korean word, means “eating broadcast(吃播)”. It is an online broadcast in which a host eats tons of food while talking with the people watching him or her. It began in South Korea in around 2010 and has spread all over the world.

Why did mukbang first appear in South Korea? Jeff Yang, an Asian-American cultural critic(评论家), thinks that it’s down to “the loneliness of unmarried or uncoupled South Koreans”. He believes that eating on your own can be hard in a country like South Korea, where social eating is such a long tradition. However, eating alone is becoming increasingly common. It seems that mukbang gives people the feeling that they are part of something larger.

Alice Stride, a spokeswoman for the Campaign to End Loneliness, says, “It might bring someone great comfort to watch mukbang.” She adds that she would be worried if younger people were watching people eat instead of eating with friends or family, but for older people it could be a comfort. “If you can’t get out, if you’re ill for example, then perhaps that will bring you a great sense of comfort. On the whole, though, we would advocate face-to-face communication. It’s something that won’t change.”

“I would always encourage people to do whatever makes them feel better as long as it is a healthy habit,” says Ben Edwards, a relationship expert. “I doubt if mukbang is a healthy way to have a meal. But I think if people feel like watching other people eat, and it gives them some sort of satisfaction, I see no harm.”

1.What questions are answered in Paragraph 1?

①How old is mukbang?

②What does mukbang mean?

③Where did mukbang begin?

④How did mukbang get popular?

A. ①②③ B. ①③④ C. ①②④ D. ②③④

2.According to Jeff Yang, it is difficult for South Koreans to eat alone because they_____________.

A. have the culture of eating together B. are supporters of ending loneliness

C. like joining a larger group D. usually have a big family

3.Which of the following is probably Alice Stride’s opinion?

A. Mukbang helps lots of people feel less lonely.

B. Older people are more interested in mukbang.

C. Younger people should offer more comfort to older people.

D. Younger people should eat with their friends and family a lot.

4.What does the underlined word “advocate” in Paragraph 3 probably mean in Chinese?

A. 观察 B. 提倡 C. 建立 D. 评估

5.What does Ben Edwards think of mukbang?

A. It is difficult to do. B. It is healthy for the host.

C. It is an acceptable thing. D. It is a popular way of eating.

阅读下列短文，根据短文内容填写表格，每空限填一词。

Have you ever regretted(后悔) what you did in the past? Anyone around you will have no difficulty in telling his regrets. As we get older, we look back and wish that we had made better choices. What can we do to avoid future regrets?

Make better plans

If you begin to do something, you need to make a plan before doing it. The earlier, the better. You will know what comes first and what comes last. You’ll also know what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. If changes happen, you can have more time to deal with them.

Live a more active life

You can go around more often. More outdoor activities can keep you relaxed. You also need to be kind. “Thank you” can bring a smile to someone’s face. Learn to say “sorry” and don’t be angry with others.

Find the right friend

A friend may make your life and he or she can break your life as well. So you need to think twice when you choose a friend. Good friends will always better your ideas.

When you have problems, ask others for help. That little help may get you good results.

Never fear failure

Everybody fails. Even the greatest person failed. We should not fear failure, because failure is not the end of the road. We must take failure as a chance to learn and improve ourselves.

Life is good. We don’t have to live in our past, but we do hope that we can plan better, live better, and work better when we have the chance to do so.

阅读下列短文，回答问题

An ant is saved by a pigeon, and almost immediately returns the favor.

One day an ant found a grain of corn and decided to take it home. He held it very tight, and hurried as fast as he could, so that nobody would take the grain of corn from him. There was a river on the way home, but the ant, in a hurry, had forgotten about it, and he fell in, corn and all.

The corn slipped from his mouth and went to the bottom of the river. The ant stayed on top of the water and worked hard to find a place to get out. But after a while, the ant began to be afraid that he was out of breath.

A pigeon came to the river to drink, and she saw the ant crying for help in the water. She decided that she would help the little fellow. She took a long, dry piece of grass and dropped it so that it fell near the ant. He climbed on to the grass and soon got out. The ant caught his breath, and then thanked the pigeon for saving him.

There was a boy near the river with a gun. The ant saw him walking up nearer and nearer to the pigeon. Hurrying as fast as he could, the ant climbed up the boy’s leg and gave him a hard bite.

The boy dropped his gun and cried out, and the pigeon saw him and flew to safety. Each had saved the other. When the pigeon saved the ant she did not know that the ant would ever be able to do anything for her in return. Each was happier because of what each did for the other.

The Bura people say, “Every person is another’s butter.”

1.What did the ant find one day?

____________________________________________________________

2.Why did the ant go back home as fast as he could?

___________________________________________________________

3.Was the ant able to get out of the river by himself?

_____________________________________________________________

4.What did the pigeon see when she came to the river?

___________________________________________________________

5.How did the ant save the pigeon when the pigeon was in danger?

____________________________________________________________

缺词填空

Some people still live in their hometown. However, o1. may only see it once or twice a year. Today, millions of Chinese people leave the countryside to find jobs in big cities. A2. these is Zhong Wei, a 46-year-old husband and father. He has been living in Wenzhou for the last 13 years. With a hard job in a crayon factory, he doesn’t find much time to visit his hometown. “I u3. to return home at least once a year, but I haven’t been back for almost three years. It’s a shame, b4. I just don’t have the time,” he said.

Many people like Zhong Wei wonder with great interest how their hometowns have changed. Many large hospitals and new roads have appeared. In many places, the government has built new s5. and sent teachers from the cities to help.

“I noticed, my hometown is like this,” Zhong added. “Children have learned to read and count at my old primary school s6. the mid-20th century. But now the buildings are very old. I hear that they will build a new school there.” Zhong Wei believes such developments are good, he also knows that his hometown cannot always stay the s7..

According to Zhong Wei, however, some things will n8. change. “In my hometown, there is a big old tree in the school. Still there, it has become a symbol of the place. Most of the children in my time liked to play together under the big tree, especially d9. the summer holidays. It was really a happy childhood. Our hometown has left many soft and sweet m10. in our hearts.”

书面表达

在九年级即将结束之际，你们班将举行一次主题班会，要求同学们谈谈三年来自己的收获与变化。请为David准备一份100词左右的演讲稿，具体内容如下：

Hello, everyone. I’m David. Back to the life in the last three years, I think I have changed a lot and made great progress in many ways.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which of the following underlined parts is different in pronunciation?

A. ache B. flag C. tape D. waste

Walk along the street and you will see the big guitar on ______ left.

A. a B. an C. the D. /

The kind teacher lost_______ life in the car accident in order to save the child.

A. she B. her C. hers D. herself

There are only_______ chances for you to win. You should try your best

A. little B. a little C. few D. a few