辽宁盘锦市盘山县盘锦弘毅中学2026-2027学年八年级上学期11月期中英语试题

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考  场

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2026-2027学年度第一学期期中考试

八 年 级 英 语

一、阅读理解（每天2分，共40分）

A

Many amazing plants and animals live in the rainforest. Let’s learn about three special living things there.
Kapok Trees(木棉树)Kapok trees are some of the tallest plants in the rainforest. They grow straight up to get more sunshine. Their trunks are very thick. They can grow to over 70 meters tall.	HummingbirdsHummingbirds are tiny birds. They have the most colourful feathers. They can fly fast and even stay in one place in the air. They get food from flower juice.	Tree FrogsTree frogs are small but amazing. Their bright skin can warn other animals. They live on leaves and they are good at jumping.

根据以上内容,选择正确答案。

1．________ are some of the tallest plants in the rainforest.

A．Kapok trees B．Apple trees C．Bamboo D．Pine trees

2．Kapok trees grow straight up to get more ________.

A．water B．sunshine C．air D．soil

3．Hummingbirds have ________.

A．thick trunks B．hard shells C．colourful feathers D．long legs

4．You can read the passage in a ________ book.

A．travel B．nature C．music D．history

B

Do you sometimes wonder why some friends feel as close as family? Genetics (遗传学) might have a hand in choosing your closest friends.

According to a US study with 1,932 people, friends have a kinship coefficient (亲缘系数) that is 0. 0014higher than that of strangers! The kinship coefficient is an easy way to see how genetically related (相关的) two people are-the higher the number, the closer the relationship.

Don’t look down on this number. The kinship coefficient between parents and children is about 0. 25. For first cousins, it is about 0. 0625, while for fourth cousins, it is around only 0. 001. This means you might share more genes (基因) with your best friend than with some distant (遥远的) family members.

Why are people with a high level of kinship coefficient more likely to become friends? A study in Science showed that close friends usually have similar body smells. Scientists collected sweat samples (汗液样本) from20 pairs of friends. They all became close in a short time. Using an e-nose and human volunteers to study the smells, they found that friends’ body odours (体味) were more alike than those of strangers. So, next time you hug your friends, you might notice that they smell a bit like you!

5．How does the writer start the passage?

A．By showing examples of close friends. B．By asking and answering a question.

C．By listing some important numbers. D．By sharing a story between friends.

6．What can the kinship coefficient show?

A．How much two friends have in common.

B．How distant two friends can be from each other.

C．How close the genetic relation between two people is.

D．How long it takes for two strangers to become friends.

7．What can we learn from Paragraph 3?

A．Our best friend might be a distant family member.

B．The kinship coefficient between two friends is 0. 001.

C．Best friends have a higher kinship coefficient than first cousins.

D．Best friends may share more genetic similarities than distant relatives.

8．According to the passage, how may people become close friends?

A．They like the smell of each other’s body. B．They grow at a similar pace.

C．Their body smells are similar. D．Both friends like the same smell.

C

Sam was a top student in his class. He worked hard and got good grades. However, he was a bit shy and didn’t talk much to his classmates.

One day, a new student named Max joined the class. Max was different. He was very active and loved telling jokes. Soon, he and Sam became deskmates. Max tried to talk to Sam, but Sam was too shy to respond. Max didn’t give up. He found out that Sam liked drawing comics. So, Max started drawing funny pictures and showing them to Sam. Slowly, Sam began to laugh at Max’s jokes and even shared his own drawings.

After a few months, Sam changed a lot. He was no longer the shy boy who sat in the corner. He joined the school art club with Max and even performed in the school talent show. Sam told Max, “You helped me find my confidence. Our differences make us a great team.”

9．What was Sam like at the beginning of the story?

A．Active and funny. B．Shy and quiet.

C．Confident and outgoing. D．Serious and strict.

10．How did Max make friends with Sam?

A．By helping Sam with his homework.  B．By finding Sam’s interest in drawing.

C．By performing in the talent show.    D．By joining the art club alone.

11． Why did Sam change a lot later?

A．Because he wanted to be different from Max. B．Because Max encouraged him to be himself.

C．Because he wanted to get better grades.    D．Because his teacher asked him to change.

12．What is the main idea of the story?

A．Practice makes perfect.             B．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C．Differences can help us grow.        D．Actions speak louder than words.

D

①Swifts (雨燕) live in the air most of the time. These small birds are among the fastest animals on earth. In fact, swifts can fly two or three days without landing on the ground! To get used to life in the sky, swifts use their speed and the saliva (唾液) in their mouths.

②Swifts can fly faster than 100 miles per hour. That’s because their wings are like boomerangs (回力镖). This shape of the wings helps them to fly much faster. They can also make one wing faster than the other, and it lets them make sharp turns without slowing down. Making fast sharp turns helps swifts catch flying insects to eat.

③The saliva helps swifts catch flying insects to feed their young. It is sticky like glue. Swifts often fly into clouds of flying insects and open their wide mouths to catch as many flying insects as they can. They collect flying insects in their mouths and hold them in a sticky ball of saliva. One food ball can hold about 1,000 flying insects.

④Swifts also use their saliva as glue to build their nests. The birds catch feathers in the air and stick the feathers together to build a strong nest. Swifts’ short feet are not good for walking or standing on land for long. But their sharp claws let them stick to rocks and walls so they can take a short rest before returning to their lives in the sky.

根据短文内容，选择正确答案。

13．What is the main reason for swifts flying and turning so fast?