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When do we realize that we need to change diets? When none of our shirts and jeans would fit us. When do we stop eating candies and chocolates? When all of our teeth have fallen off. When do we realize that we need to stop smoking? When our lungs have gone bad. We see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and difficult.
The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self-improvement power is when the whole world is falling apart. We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change, but change becomes more painful when we ignore(忽视）it，
Change will happen, like it or hate it. At one point or another, we are all going to finally unlock our self-improvement power not because the world says so. But because we realize it’s for our own good.
Happy people don’t just accept change; they embrace (拥抱）it. Unlocking our self-improvement power means unlocking ourselves out of the box of thought that is just the way we are. It is such a poor excuse for people who fear change.
Jane always tells everyone that she doesn’t have the courage to be around groups of people. She heard her family tell the same things about her to other people. Over the years, that is what Jane has believed. Every time a great crowd come, she steps back and locks herself up in a room. Jane not only believes in her story, but lives it!
Self-improvement may not be everybody’s favorite word, but if we look at things in a different way, we might have greater chances of
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enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved. Three sessions in a week at the gym would result in a healthier life. Reading books every day would build up knowledge. And only when we are enjoying the whole process of unlocking our self-improvement power will we realize that we? re beginning to take things light and become happy.
30.The writer mentions the three questions in Paragraph 2 to show that
A. we learn our lessons when we experience pain. B. we are responsible for the problems we meet. C. life fails us when we get into the wrong way. D. life is a long journey full of ups and downs. 31. What is the key to solving Jane’ s problem? A. She needs to remember why she started. B. She has to know how to get on with people.
C. She has to realize she is not what she is in her story. D. She needs to understand the importance of confidence.
32.The writer probably agrees that.
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A. the world tells us how to improve ourselves. B. people change when they find it easy to do that. C. welcoming change in life is a drive to become better. D.enjoying the process of self-improvement makes life simpler.
33.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A. Is it important to take things light? B. Is it necessary to embrace challenges? C. To hold on to the last moment or to give up? D. To free ourselves out of the box or to stay in it?
四、阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题.（共10分，每小题2分） When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework,
you might notice that
there is no letter E. Have you ever thought about why that is so?
In the A, B, C, D and F grading system, the first four letters
are typically
considered passing grades.
An F in this system simply stands for “fail” . The word “fail” happens tostart with the letter F, which seems to leave out the letter
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E. The fact”. Some schools have U grade for “unsatisfactory”，or I grade for “incomplete”.
Even with all this said, we should also point out that E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter
grades in the US.
The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College. In 1897，they began to use the following grading scale:
A: 95-100%(excellent) B: 85-94%(good) C: 76-84%(fair) D: 75%(barely passed) E: below 75%(failed) We can see the inclusion of E instead of F.
Gradually, the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US. However, many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F. There is no evidence (证据)to really support this, but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for “excellent” .
Why do we have letter grades? Well, part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools. As the 20th century began, growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms. Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy, fair and clear way to grade students.
Today, more and more people argue that letter grades don? t fully
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reflect (反映）student learning。 However, as teachers try to improve grading methods, many parents continue to favor the letter grades they got as kids, they are familiar(熟悉）and easy for parents to understand. So while they might not be perfect, the letter grades probably aren’t going away any time soon.
34. what does an F stand for in the A、B、C、D and F grading system? 35. when was the letter grading system first used in the US college? 36.what is one possible explanation for dropping the E grade? 37.what did most teachers think of the letter grading system in the 20th century?
38. why do many parents still prefer the letter grades today?
书面表达（共10分）
五、文段表达(10分）
39.从下面两个题目中任选一题，根据中文和英文提示，完成一篇不少于50词的文段写作，文中已给出内容不 计入总数.所给提示词语仅供选用，请不要写出你的校名和姓名。
题目一：
假如你是李华，你们学校要举办一场关于京剧的讲座，你打算邀请你们班交换生Peter参加，请用英语写一封 电子邮件，告诉他讲座时间和地点以及需要做什么准备。
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最新2018年北京中考英语试题及答案
