福建省福州杨桥中学2025-2026学年上学期九年级10月月考英语试卷

福州杨桥中学2025-2026学年第一学期10月适应性练习九年级英语 命题人：陈慧敏 审卷人：李清 (本卷共14页 考试时间：120分钟 试卷满分：150分) 注意事项： 1. 答卷前，考生务必将自己的姓名、考生号等填写在答题卡指定位置上。 2. 回答选择题时，选出每小题答案后，用铅笔把答题卡对应题目的答案标号涂黑。如需改动，用橡皮擦干净后，再选涂其他答案标号。回答非选择题时，将答案写在答题卡上。写在本试卷上无效。 Ⅰ. 听力(共三节，20小题;每小题1. 5分，满分30分) 第一节 听句子 听下面五个句子，从每小题所给的A、B、C三幅图中选出与句子内容相符的选项。(每个句子读两遍) 1A. B. C. 2. A. B. C. 3. A. B. C. 4. A. B. C. 5. A. B. C. 第二节 听对话 听下面七段对话，从每小题所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出正确答案。(每段对话读两遍) 听第1段对话，回答第6小题。 6. What did Jane do for the disabled children? A. She told stories. B. She cleaned rooms. C. She put on funny shows 听第2段对话，回答第7小题。 7. How long has Ann kept her car? A. Since last month. B. Since 2 years ago. C. Since last year 听第3段对话，回答第8小题。 8. Who will eat out? A. Mike. B. Jane. C. Jane and Mike 听第4段对话，回答第9小题。 9. What’s the weather like? A. It’s cloudy. B. It’s windy. C. It’s sunny. 听第5段对话，回答第10、11小题。 10. Where are the two speakers now? A. In a park. B. On a bus. C. On a plane. 11. What does the woman think causes the sun to be so red? A. Air pollution. B. Light pollution. C. Soil pollution. 听第6段对话，回答第12、13小题。 12. What’s Tim doing? A. Watching TV. B. Reading a newspaper. C. Searching the Internet. 13. Why is Tim angry? A. Because some people stole some ducks. B. Because some people picked flowers. C. Because some people cut down and stole hundreds of trees. 听第7段对话，回答第14、15小题。 14. What did Karl do yesterday? A. He collected garbage. B. He bought some food. C. He saw some animals. 15. Where was Karl yesterday? A. In a shop. B. In a zoo. C. In a park. 第三节 听短文 根据你所听到的短文内容，完成下面表格，每空填一词。(短文读三遍) Notice Who Mark Brown, an officer from the 16 government. Introduction The topic of the speech is about how to protect our beautiful 17 . Where and when The speech will be at three o’clock on Friday 18 in the school hall. What to do *Take a pen and a notebook. *While listening, write down the main 19 about the speech. How Visit our school website or 20 us for more information. Ⅱ. 选择填空(共15小题;每小题1分，满分15分) 从每小题所给的A、B、C三个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的正确答案。 1. — When will they leave for Beijing? — ________ the morning of October 1st. A. In B. On C. At 2. — Since the reform and opening up, great changes have taken place in our country. — ________. A. So they have B. So have they C. Neither have they 3. —Peter, remember to take an umbrella tomorrow. —OK. I know ________ it rains, I’ll get wet without it. A. once B. until C. since 4. —________ have they been in China? —Since 2008. A. How long B. How often C. How soon 5 Mr. Brown ________ to Paris a week ago and ________ there for a week. A. has gone; has been in B. has been; has stayed C. went; has stayed 6. Recently, there ________ more environmental problems as the population increases. A. are B. have been C. has been 7. When we meet a new word in an article, we can guess its meaning ________the context. A. out of B. according to C. far from 8. It is kind________ you to________. A. of; pick me up B. for; pick up me C. of; pick up me 9. Smoking has a bad ________ on our health, especially the young. So students mustn’t smoke. A. effort B. effect C. value 10. He ________ live in the city but now he ________ country life. A. is used to; used to B. be used to; is used to C. used to; gets used to 11. There are________ many people________ we can’t find each other. A. too, to B. such, that C. so, that 12. —Jenny, can I have my dictionary back? You________ for 5 days. —Sorry, I’ll return it right away. A. have brought B. have kept C. have borrowed 13. —Have Tom called you ________? —No, but I have ________ gave him my number. A. already; yet B. yet; ever C. yet; already 14. Last Sunday, I spent ________ hour visiting the National Museum and bought ________ useful book about history there. A. an; a B. a; an C. an; an 15. —Could you please tell me ________? —Go along this street and turn right at the first crossing. A. where is the library B. how I can get to the library C. whether there is a library nearby Ⅲ. 完形填空。(每小题1. 5分，共15分) 根据短文内容，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个能填入相应空格内的最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。 You know that pile of homework is due tomorrow, but you just find yourself putting it off and ____16____ looking for distractions, such as checking your phone or logging into a social networking site. If that sounds like what you do, you may be dealing with procrastination (拖延症), a habit of putting things off to a ____17____ time. But you’re not alone. In fact, procrastination has ____18____ a huge change in people’s lives. So why do people procrastinate and ____19____ to get rid of the habit? A fear of failure is often the primary reason why people procrastinate. If you have a task (任务) to do and you’ re unsure of your ability to do it, then it’s only ____20____ that you’ll put it off. You may not be able to successfully complete your job ____21____ you don’t want to admit (承认) it. However, the thing is, that task will not go away and you still have to get it done on time. In this case, the ____22____ is to work out the true reason why you’ re afraid of failing. Often, you’ ll discover that there is some technical reason ____23____ your procrastination — that is, you just don’t have the knowledge or skills to do it. The answer is to be straight up about it. ____24____ you have to learn the skills to the point where you can do the task or you have to ask for help. Don’t just leave it! We all know where that ____25____ —a dark place filled with bad consequences (后果) in your life and increased stress. 16. A. actively B. carefully C. properly 17. A. quicker B. later C. less 18. A. reached B. caused C. repeated 19. A. when B. what C. how 20. A. wise B. natural C. strange 21. A. as well as B. instead C. even if 22. A. request B. secret C. progress 23. A. beside B. behind C. past 24. A. Both B. Either C. Neither 25. A. ends up B. takes up C. looks up Ⅳ. 阅读理解(共两节，25小题：满分45分) 第一节：阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。(共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分) A Invisible communication Do you want to send a message to a friend secretly? Here is a way to make secret communication. ※What you’ll need: Half of a lemon A cup or a small glass with four spoons of water in it Cotton swab White paper Electric lamp ※How to make it: 1. Squeeze lemon juice into water and mix. 2. Dip the swab into juice and water mixture and write some words on the paper. 3. Let wet paper dry well. Show it to your friend and ask if he or she can see a message on it. NO! 4. Hold the paper close to an electric lamp to heat it. Can your friends see the writing now? YES! Words appear! 26. How many steps do we need to make secret communication? A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five. 27. To make the experiment you need the following things except________. A. B. C. D. 28. What does the underlined word “dip” mean in Chinese according to the context? A. 添加 B. 滴入 C. 浸泡 D. 捆绑 29. What makes your word appear? A. Carbon B. White paper. C. Water. D. Cotton swab. 30. In which part of a magazine is the passage probably from? A. Healthy Food. B. Close to Nature. C. Energy Saving. D. Science in Daily Life. Sitting in my car, I was watching dolphins swim in the ocean. It was such an enjoyment. Suddenly I saw more and more dolphins become beached after the tide (潮水) went out. That was too dangerous. Those dolphins needed help — and fast. Without thinking too much, I jumped off my car and ran toward them. I first called the police and Wildlife Protection Organization, but their hands were far and away. On the beach hardly a person could be seen. For those dolphins, it was a life-or-death moment. Not knowing what to do, I turned to the Internet for help, hoping people nearby could see my post and come to save those lovely animals. Minutes later, three teenage boys of a nearby school were the first to arrive, It was like light piercing (穿透) the darkness. Then more and more people arrived after that. With direction from fishermen, about 40 volunteers were able to get to work on digging, pulling and bringing smaller dolphins to deeper waters. However, to everyone’s surprise, no dolphin left by itself after it got free. When the tide began to rise, the dolphins chirped (唧唧叫) to encourage each other. The dolphins stayed where they were in the water until the save was complete. Once all 16 dolphins were set free, they soon returned to their ocean home together. It warmed my hear that the dolphins showed a sense of belonging (归属) — helping each other in face of difficulty. Looking around, I understood that our volunteer group is very similar to the dolphins. On a cold November day, nobody was afraid to get wet or dirty. We tried our best to save the dolphins and communicated back and forth (来回地) to keep the save in order and to ensure the safety of everybody. I will never forget this experience. 31 What happened to the dolphins suddenly according to Paragraph 1? A. They asked for help. B. They were brought to deeper waters. C. They became beached. D. They chirped to encourage each other. 32. Who saved the dolphins at last? A. The police. B. Nearby people. C. A fisherman. D. People from an organization. 33. Why did no dolphin leave by itself after it got free? A. Because the tide began to rise. B. Because they had a sense of belonging. C. Because it was a life-or-death moment. D. Because more and more people arrived. 34. What’s the purpose of the last paragraph? A. To call on the animal protection B. To state the importance of the safety. C. To speak highly of the volunteers’ spirits. D. To present the relationship between animals and humans. 35. How did the writer’s feelings change after the accident happened? A. Happy→nervous→sad→happy B. Surprised→nervous→tired→joyful C Scared→worried→excited→peaceful D. Worried→excited→surprised→warm C 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine On October 6, 2025, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to American scientists Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Japanese researcher Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking work on peripheral immune tolerance (外周免疫耐受). In 1995, Sakaguchi discovered regulatory T cells (Tregs) (调节性T细胞). These cells act as the immune system’s “security guards, ” preventing other immune cells from attacking the body’s own tissues. In 2001, Brunkow and Ramsdell found that mutations (突变) in a gene called Foxp3 (叉头框蛋白P3基因) caused severe autoimmune diseases (自身免疫性疾病) in mice. They also proved that similar mutations lead to a life-threatening autoimmune condition in humans called IPEX syndrome (免疫失调、多内分泌腺病、肠病、X连锁综合征). In 2003, Sakaguchi linked these findings, showing Foxp3 is the “master switch” controlling Treg development. Without functional Foxp3, Tregs cannot form properly, leaving the body vulnerable to autoimmune attacks (自身免疫攻击). Their collective discoveries have paved the way for new treatments. Clinical trials (临床试验) are now testing therapies that boost Tregs to treat autoimmune diseases, or block Tregs activity in cancer to help the immune system fight tumors, offering hope to millions of patients. 36. What is the primary reason for Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi to win the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine? A. They developed a new therapy for cancer. B. They discovered the mechanism of peripheral immune tolerance. C. They found a cure for IPEX syndrome. D. They invented a method to boost immune cells. 37. Which of the following statements about regulatory T cells (Tregs) is correct according to the passage? A. They can cause autoimmune diseases if not controlled. B. They were first identified by Brunkow and Ramsdell in 2001. C. They mainly work to attack cancerous tumors. D. Their development depends on the normal function of the Foxp3 gene. 38. The underlined phrase “pave the way for” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to________. A. set a foundation for B. create difficulties for C. slow down the progress of D. take the place of 39. What can we infer from the passage about clinical trials mentioned? A. They have already successfully cured autoimmune diseases B. They are only carried out on mice rather than humans. C. They focus on two different ways related to Tregs. D. They were first designed by Shimon Sakaguchi in 2003. 40. The passage is mainly intended to________. A. explain how autoimmune diseases form B. introduce the Nobel Prize winners and their contributions C. compare different research methods in immune system study D. encourage high school students to pursue a career in science Glaciers are formed in areas of high snowfall in winter and cool temperatures in summer. They can come in different shapes and sizes. Some glaciers are small and they may only be a few meters wide. Some glaciers are large, and they are over hundreds of thousands of kilometers. About 10% of the world’s land is covered by such different sizes of glaciers. They serve as natural reservoirs (水库) because about 75% of all the fresh water in the world is kept in glaciers. That’s why glaciers are quite important. Now some glaciers are disappearing because of global (全球的) warming. As the Earth becomes warmer, glaciers melt quickly. Scientists believe that it will lead to serious results in the near future. There will be more earthquakes. Large glaciers stop small earthquakes because the plates can’t move much under these huge objects. In Southeast Alaska, some glaciers are gone, and the land is lifted. So the plates can move more quickly, and this leads to more earthquakes there. Volcanoes (火山) will become “hot” again. Volcanoes are waking up because of the disappearing glaciers. Even volcanoes that weren’t lively have broken out several times in recent years. Scientists said that the glaciers have something to do with it. The volcanoes will become “hot” again after the glaciers get thin. People, animals and plants are in danger. Coral (珊瑚) grows in salt water. The more glaciers melt, the more fresh water there will be, and it is not good for coral. People, animals and plants need fresh water from glaciers to live. They will be in danger if too much fresh water goes into the sea. Something must be done. Many people are now living a green life which is a way of living with less carbon dioxide (CO₂). For example, they prefer to take public transportation and use both sides of the paper. These are helpful in slowing down global warming. With little effort and not much money, most of us can make a difference. 41. How does the writer start the text? A. By listing numbers. B. By offering suggestions. C. By asking questions. D. By giving introductions. 42. Why are glaciers very important? A. They cover about 10% of the world’s land. B. They hold a lot of fresh water in the world. C. They are beautiful and loved by many tourists. D. They provide homes for different kinds of animals. 43. What does the underlined word “plates” mean in the text? plate/pleɪt/ n.[C] plural plates A. A plate is a flat, usually round, dish that you put food on. B. A plate is a whole main course of a meal, served on one plate. C. A plate is one of the very large pieces of rock that form the earth’s surface and move slowly. D. A plate is a piece of metal or plastic at the front and back of a car with numbers and letters on it. 44. Which of the following shows the structure of the text? A. B. C. D. 45. Which of the following may the writer agree with? A. Glaciers will never disappear. B. Many people are trying to save the glaciers. C. The volcanoes speed up the melting of glaciers. D. Animals change themselves to fit in the new environment. 第二节：阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的五个选项中选出能填入短文空白处的最佳选项。使短文通顺、连贯，意思完整。(共5小题;每小题1分，满分5分) E Do you know about the “Two Mountains Theory (理论)”?— ____46____ Or we can also say green waters and blue mountains are the same as the golden mountains and silver mountains. That means the beauty and the value of nature are as important as gold. This is the thought said by Chairman Xi Jinping who visited the Yu Village in Zhejiang Province in 2015. ____47____ And it also shows the human shares the same world with nature together. The Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) is the seventh largest desert in China, with a total area of about 18, 600 square kilometers. ____48____, all it had were wind and sand. When it was in early spring, the sandstorm could be blown to Beijing in only one evening. The bad natural environment has become one of the most serious problems in the local area. ____49____ First of all, they planted a lot of trees and grass to increase the coverage (覆盖范围) of surface and stopped the water from washing the earth away. Then, they tried to manage the water resources and use the new water-saving technology in the farm field. ____50____ Lastly, they developed the new energy and renewable energy sources such as sunshine and wind to produce electricity to satisfy people’s daily electricity needs. Through the efforts in recent years, the Kubuqi desert has been controlled well. With a better environment and richer people, it truly practice sthe theory of lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. A. Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. B. In order to change this situation, the local government has done a lot. C. After that, use new biology technology skills to study the soil suitable for plant growth. D. There was no grass, no trees, no animals and even no people 30 years ago, E. This theory shows that the importance of environmental protection. Ⅴ. 情景交际(共5小题：每小题2分，满分10分) 根据情景提示，用得体的语言完成下列各题。 51. A: I was a volunteer in a disabled children’s home and I cooked for them. B: What ________________! 52. A: ________________ in New York? B: Well… I heard that the environment used to be very polluted, but now it has improved a lot since I came here. 53. A: ________________? B: I’m OK. I have coughed less. 54. A: ________________? B: Great! I went to many places near my home in India for my trip. 55. A: Why was the weather so bad? B: ________________. As a result, a lot of rich land changed into desert. Ⅵ. 看图写话(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分) 根据每小题所提供的图画情景和提示词，写出一个与图画情景相符的句子。 56. There be, pour ________________________ 57. not only...but also ________________________ 58. stop, blow away ________________________ 59. when, future ________________________ 60. care for ________________________ Ⅶ. 短文填空(共10小题;每小题1分，满分10分) 阅读下面短文，根据语境或所给单词的提示，在每个空格内填入一个恰当的词，要求所填的词意义准确、形式正确，使短文意思完整、行文连贯。 阅读下面短文，根据语境或所给单词的提示，在每个空格内填入一个恰当的词，要求所填的词意义准确、形式正确，使短文意思完整、行文连贯。 One day, an old man, seen as the wisest (最睿智的) man in the village, was walking along the road when a young man ____61____ (stop) him. “You have no right to teach others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everybody else. You are nothing at all.” The old man was not angry at these ____62____ (word). Instead, he asked the young man, “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone and that person does not accept it, who does the gift belong to?” The man was ____63____ (surprise) to hear such a strange question, but it was not difficult. “It would belong to me because I bought the gift,” he answered. The old man smiled and said, “That’s right. It is ____64____ (real) the same with your anger. If you become angry ____65____ me and I do not get upset, then the anger falls back on you. You are ____66____ only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have ____67____ (do) is to hurt yourself. If you want to stop ____68____ (hurt) yourself, you must get rid of (丢掉) ____69____ (you) anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. ____70____ when you love others, everyone is happy.” Ⅷ. 书面表达(满分15分) 71. 近年来，我们周围的环境发生了一些变化。请以“The Changing Environment around Us”为题，谈谈你观察到的主要环境变化、这些变化带来的影响，以及作为中学生，我们可以做些什么来保护环境。请你根据下图所示，写一篇演讲稿，谈谈你周围环境的变化和想法。词数80左右。 The Changing Environment around Us. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 福州杨桥中学2025-2026学年第一学期10月适应性练习九年级英语 命题人：陈慧敏 审卷人：李清 (本卷共14页 考试时间：120分钟 试卷满分：150分) 注意事项： 1. 答卷前，考生务必将自己的姓名、考生号等填写在答题卡指定位置上。 2. 回答选择题时，选出每小题答案后，用铅笔把答题卡对应题目的答案标号涂黑。如需改动，用橡皮擦干净后，再选涂其他答案标号。回答非选择题时，将答案写在答题卡上。写在本试卷上无效。 Ⅰ. 听力(共三节，20小题;每小题1. 5分，满分30分) 第一节 听句子 听下面五个句子，从每小题所给的A、B、C三幅图中选出与句子内容相符的选项。(每个句子读两遍) 1A. B. C. 2. A. B. C. 3. A. B. C. 4. A. B. C. 5. A. B. C. 第二节 听对话 听下面七段对话，从每小题所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出正确答案。(每段对话读两遍) 听第1段对话，回答第6小题。 6. What did Jane do for the disabled children? A. She told stories. B. She cleaned rooms. C. She put on funny shows 听第2段对话，回答第7小题。 7. How long has Ann kept her car? A. Since last month. B. Since 2 years ago. C. Since last year 听第3段对话，回答第8小题。 8. Who will eat out? A. Mike. B. Jane. C. Jane and Mike 听第4段对话，回答第9小题。 9. What’s the weather like? A. It’s cloudy. B. It’s windy. C. It’s sunny. 听第5段对话，回答第10、11小题。 10. Where are the two speakers now? A. In a park. B. On a bus. C. On a plane. 11. What does the woman think causes the sun to be so red? A. Air pollution. B. Light pollution. C. Soil pollution. 听第6段对话，回答第12、13小题。 12. What’s Tim doing? A. Watching TV. B. Reading a newspaper. C. Searching the Internet. 13. Why is Tim angry? A. Because some people stole some ducks. B. Because some people picked flowers. C. Because some people cut down and stole hundreds of trees. 听第7段对话，回答第14、15小题。 14. What did Karl do yesterday? A. He collected garbage. B. He bought some food. C. He saw some animals. 15. Where was Karl yesterday? A. In a shop. B. In a zoo. C. In a park. 第三节 听短文 根据你所听到的短文内容，完成下面表格，每空填一词。(短文读三遍) Notice Who Mark Brown, an officer from the 16 government. Introduction The topic of the speech is about how to protect our beautiful 17 . Where and when The speech will be at three o’clock on Friday 18 in the school hall. What to do *Take a pen and a notebook. *While listening, write down the main 19 about the speech. How Visit our school website or 20 us for more information. Ⅱ. 选择填空(共15小题;每小题1分，满分15分) 从每小题所给的A、B、C三个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的正确答案。 【1题答案】 【答案】B 【2题答案】 【答案】A 【3题答案】 【答案】A 【4题答案】 【答案】A 【5题答案】 【答案】C 【6题答案】 【答案】B 【7题答案】 【答案】B 【8题答案】 【答案】A 【9题答案】 【答案】B 【10题答案】 【答案】C 【11题答案】 【答案】C 【12题答案】 【答案】B 【13题答案】 【答案】C 【14题答案】 【答案】A 【15题答案】 【答案】B Ⅲ. 完形填空。(每小题1. 5分，共15分) 根据短文内容，从A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个能填入相应空格内的最佳答案，并把答题卡上对应题目的答案标号涂黑。 【16~25题答案】 【答案】16. A 17. B 18. B 19. C 20. B 21. C 22. B 23. B 24. B 25. A Ⅳ. 阅读理解(共两节，25小题：满分45分) 第一节：阅读下列短文，根据短文内容，从题中所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。(共20小题：每小题2分，满分40分) A 【26~30题答案】 【答案】26. C 27. D 28. C 29. A 30. D 【31~35题答案】 【答案】31. C 32. B 33. B 34. C 35. D C 【36~40题答案】 【答案】36. B 37. D 38. A 39. C 40. B 【41~45题答案】 【答案】41. D 42. B 43. C 44. B 45. B 第二节：阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的五个选项中选出能填入短文空白处的最佳选项。使短文通顺、连贯，意思完整。(共5小题;每小题1分，满分5分) E 【46~50题答案】 【答案】46. A 47. E 48. D 49. B 50. C Ⅴ. 情景交际(共5小题：每小题2分，满分10分) 根据情景提示，用得体的语言完成下列各题。 【51题答案】 【答案】a wonderful experience 【52题答案】 【答案】What’s the environment like 【53题答案】 【答案】How are you feeling now 【54题答案】 【答案】How was your trip 【55题答案】 【答案】Because there was little rain Ⅵ. 看图写话(共5小题;每小题2分，满分10分) 【56~60题答案】 【答案】56. There is waste water pouring into the river. 57. Making loud noise not only disturbs others but also harms hearing. 58. Trees stop the soil from being blown away by the wind. 59. When she grows up in the future, she wants to be a cook. 60. We should care for wild tigers. Ⅶ. 短文填空(共10小题;每小题1分，满分10分) 阅读下面短文，根据语境或所给单词的提示，在每个空格内填入一个恰当的词，要求所填的词意义准确、形式正确，使短文意思完整、行文连贯。 【61~70题答案】 【答案】61. stopped 62. words 63. surprised 64. really 65. with 66. the 67. done 68. hurting 69. your 70. But Ⅷ. 书面表达(满分15分) 【71题答案】 【答案】例文 The Changing Environment around Us Dear friends, In recent years, the environment around us has changed a lot. The weather is getting hotter. Pollution is still a problem in some areas. We need more green spaces like parks. These changes have effects on us, such as making some people sick, making places dirty, and causing resource shortages. As middle school students, we can do our part to protect the environment. We can save water and electricity, recycle waste, and plant more trees. Let’s take action now to make our environment better. 第1页/共1页 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $