一位教育大家曾经说过，考试是测试学生在学习中是否学到真正重要和有用的知识的必要途径，下面介绍的是镇赉县八年级英语下册期末测试题，供同学们学习参考!

Dear Kate,

My first stop in London was Buckingham Palace. Kings and queens and their families have lived in Buckingham Palace since 1837. Queen Victoria made Buckingham Palace h er home in 1837. But it was not big enough for all her guests. More importantly, it was not big enough for all the children she planned to have, so she made the palace bigger and bigger.

I saw a parade at Buckingham Palace this morning. It's called the Changing of the Guard. It's fascinating. The guards wear interesting uniforms with red coats and tall hats. Since 1660, the kings and queens of England have had these special guards to protect them.

The ceremony(仪式) lasted about 45 minutes. The new guards marched to the palace with a band to replace the old guards. They did this in a colourful ceremony with music. It's interesting that they played both traditional music and popular songs. The Changing of Guard takes place in front of Buckingham Palace every day in spring and summer, and every two days in autumn and winter.

I went to the Houses of Parliament after I saw the Changing of the Guard. What are the Houses of Parliament? Well, I guess the country's leaders meet there to discuss important decisions.

Next to the Houses of Parliament stands a tall clock tower. Most people call it Big Ben. You know what? The name Big Ben does not refer to the clock tower. Big Ben is actually the 13-ton bell inside it!