News 1
Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice, won the World Food Prize on Monday. Yuan developed the world’s first popular and widely known hybrid rice. Hybrid rice plants can make more rice than regular ones.
News 2
Have you ever got angry at books that are full of mistakes? Don’t worry, things will get better soon. Last week, China started checking textbooks, dictionaries and children’s books all over the country. The government said the results of the check would come out at the end of June.
News 3
People will see a new “star” in the sky soon. China plants to send a satellite into space by December 2006.It will stay in space for one year. It will go around the moon and take pictures. It must be very expensive, right? That’s for sure; 1.4 billion yuan!
News 4
Have you ever thought of being able to fly around the world in a few hours? One day, maybe you can. Last Saturday, the American X-43A airplane made its first flight. It reached a speed of 8,000 kilometers per hour. This makes it the fastest plane in the world.X-43A is only three to four meters long, but it’s very heavy. It weighs 1,270 kilograms.The satellite sent by China will move around ________.
| A．the moon | B．the earth | C．the sun | D．the mars |
The speed of the fastest plane in the world is ______.
| A．1.4 kilometers per second | B．43 kilometers per minute |
| C．1,270 kilometers per hour | D．8,000 kilometers per hour |
The checking of textbooks, dictionaries and children’s books will __________.
| A．make a lot of money |
| B．make the children sad |
| C．make sure there are no mistakes in them |
| D．make sure the books are not too expensive |
Which of the following statements about the new star is NOT true?
| A．It will go around the moon. | B．It will stay in space for two years. |
| C．It costs a lot. | D．It will go into space by December 2006. |
Yuan Longping won the World Food Prize because ___________.
| A．he likes to eat hybrid rice |
| B．he is a successful father |
| C．he grows more rice than others |
| D．he developed the world’s first popular and widely grown hybrid rice |
In October 2012, I joined an organization to volunteer to work in Thailand. When I arrived in Thailand, I thought I would be taken to an orphanage（孤儿院）. However, I was told that I had to go to the place where I would live by train alone. And then I knew that my job was to teach English in a school instead of working at an orphanage.
The next day I went to the school and met the kids I would teach. In the classroom, the kids looked at me, saying nothing. No one could speak English. But from their eyes, I knew they were really nervous to learn English, It seemed like a big challenge for me, but that was just what I wanted.
Although I loved the kids and the challenge, my life in Thailand was quite hard at first. I was alone and there was nobody I could talk to. However, I didn’t give up. If I had been afraid of difficulties, I wouldn’t have traveled all the way from England to Thailand to be a volunteer. Little by little, I learned some Thai（泰国语）and started to fall in love with Thailand. Every time I saw the kids’ pleasure of learning English, I was happy and felt that what I was doing was really worthwhile.
Now I’m working in a hospital in Thailand. If you also want to be a volunteer like me, don’t worry too much about the food or the place where you live. After all, as a volunteer, the most important thing is to help people who need help!What did the writer think she would do in Thailand at first?
| A．Teach in a school. |
| B．Work at an orphanage. |
| C．Provide service for volunteers. |
| D．Work in a hospital. |
How did the writer feel when she started her job on the first day?
| A．She wasn’t interested in it at all. |
| B．She wanted to go back home. |
| C．She felt her job was very easy. |
| D．She thought it hard but interesting. |
The underlined word “worthwhile” means “________” in Chinese.
| A．值得的 | B．费力的 | C．无聊的 | D．轻松的 |
Which of the following is RIGHT about the writer?
| A．She may come from England. |
| B．She can only speak English now. |
| C．She doesn’t like teaching children very much. |
| D．She thought her volunteer experience was terrible. |
The writer tells us her experience as a volunteer to ________________.
| A．explain that being a volunteer in a strange country isn’t a good idea |
| B．tell people not to worry about their food and housing conditions |
| C．explain that it’s very important for children to learn English |
| D．show that a volunteer should face difficulties bravely（勇敢地） |
We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival.
Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China
“It’ll soon be the Chinese New Year. Before it, we’ll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we’ll go out a lot to celebrate on the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival.”
Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia
“Australia Day is on 26th January and it’s an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there’s lots of music and dancing. What fun!”
Amy, 14, New York, the US
“The first Thanksgiving was celebrated hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It’s still a very important day for family members to be together. This year we’re going to visit my grandparents and we’ll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving is on the 4th Thursday in November every year.”How many festivals are mentioned in the passage?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
During the Chinese New Year, tourists can ________.
| A．do a lot of shopping |
| B．eat turkey |
| C．decorate the house for good luck |
| D．see lion and dragon dances |
On Australia Day, family members often ________.
| A．have a meal in the countryside |
| B．go to a swimming pool |
| C．have a party at school |
| D．clean the house and dance |
What do you think a turkey is in this passage?
| A．A country. | B．A festival. |
| C．A bird. | D．A kind of drink |
From the passage, we can learn that _________.
| A．Australia Day is an important day for family members to get together |
| B．Different festivals have different customs |
| C．Many people go out for a picnic with friends before the Chinese New Year |
| D．The first Thanksgiving was born a hundred years ago |
Here’s a part of an e-mail answer from Joe giving some advice to his son in college .“When I was young , I often met trouble about what to do and what not to do .My grandmother told me not to worry about those things .I only did them once a year or once a lifetime .Instead , I should try to do well those things , and I do them every day .For example , I need to eat every day , so I should learn how to cook .I need to talk to others every day , so I should learn how to work with different people and know how to speak well .I walk every day , so my shoes should be all right and comfortable .Every night I sleep , so my bed should let me have a good rest .Taking care of the everyday things means that you do a better job of the one in a lifetime things as well .”
Information Card
| Joe’s son is in . |
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| What trouble did Joe often meet when he was young? |
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| Joe needs to eat. |
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| The shoes should be . |
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| This e-mail is from . |
One night, the ___ was blowing outside and struck the window so heavily that the noise woke
___ Fang Fang.She knew a heavy rain would soon arrive when she wondered whether the students on duty had closed the
__ .It was then 2 o’clock but she had to go out right away, and get to the
______ before the rain came.She opened the door, and
___out into the dark.On the way, the strong wind made it
___for her to go forward (向前).However, she ran as
_____ as possible, and after a while she got to the school.She hurried right to her classroom and opened the door.Oh, dear! All the windows were open, and she
______all the windows one by one.She turned
__the light and was leaving the classroom when it
____to rain heavily.When she got home, it was already half past three.
| We sell all kinds of clothes in fashion at very low prices. Now pet hospitals are very busy.Kind people who love animals are wanted to work in busy hospitals. Those who can speak a foreign language are needed in the company. Many boys often play football in the neighborhood. We have all kinds of movies videos, and each video is rented for only 10 yuan a week. There are many kinds of lights on show in our store. Guangzhou will have a cloudy day tomorrow.There will be a strong wind and some rain at times. |