Going to the park with your family is a time-honored tradition during the warmer months whether you live in the city or in a rural area. The most common thing for kids to do at the park is to play on the playground equipment. This is great for kids. For parents, however, playground time is something not quite as exciting. It’s nice to socialize with other parents and enjoy watching the little ones at play, but grown-ups can’t easily participate in the playground fun. In order to make the most of spring and summer park trips parents might want to consider trying a few new activities.
Soft Frisbees and balls are great things to bring to the park and enjoy with kids. Parents can participate in playing catch. They can enjoy the fresh air and physical activity together. Other lawn games and toys like badminton can easily be taken to the park for an afternoon of fun.
If it is a breezy day, it might be just perfect for flying a kite. Kite flying is a wonderful family fun activity. Children who are too small to fly a kite themselves can have fun chasing it and helping older siblings hold the string. Slightly older children can enjoy learning to fly kites. Teens and parents can enjoy the challenge of making kites. Best of all, kites are inexpensive and can be used in almost any open space on a breezy day.
After these, the first thought might be to head home for a meal or a snack. However, bringing a snack or having a picnic can add an exciting element to the day out and can allow the family to enjoy more park time together. Everyday foods like sandwiches and apples can be very appetising. If you decide to pack a picnic, just remember to bring bags for any garbage you might produce!Why is the playground time not quite exciting for parents?
| A．There is no equipment for them. |
| B．They can’t interact with each other. |
| C．They can’t easily enjoy the fun. |
| D．They have to watch their kids. |
What does the underlined word “appetising” in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Convenient. | B．Delicious. |
| C．Expensive. | D．Terrible. |
What can the smallest kids do with kites?
| A．Make a kite. | B．Fly a kite. |
| C．Watch a kite. | D．Chase a kite. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The benefits of parents playing with children. |
| B．Suitable weather for playing in the park. |
| C．Activities parents can do with their children in the park. |
| D．Kite flying during spring and summer. |
Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone.
Make friendship a priority(优先). Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn go unmowed(未割草) or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can’ t get together, use the phone to keep in touch.
Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of heartfelt intimacy(亲密). Don’t be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems, but offer advice only when it’s wanted. Help raise friends’ self-esteem when they are sad by a job loss, or other such events.
Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies, singing in a choir(合唱), and joining in a bowling league.
Don’t wait for a friend to ask a favor. When a friend has the flu, offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their after-school activities.
Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage, friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests.
Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms, or bookstores can lead to firm friendship.
Enroll in an adult-education course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests.What should we do to have friends according to the author?
| A．Make friendship a priority. |
| B．Open up to close friends. |
| C．Never take a friendship for granted |
| D．All the above. |
Which of the statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．You should have different friends for the same activities. |
| B．You should wait for a friend to ask a favor. |
| C．You should avoid talking with stranger in museums, laundry rooms of bookstores. |
| D．You should never take a friendship for granted. |
The underlined word “enroll” in the last paragraph means _____.
| A．give | B．join |
| C．get | D．catch |
Most people know that the United States is made up of fifty states. However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them. Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician. He wants to change this situation.
Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album about each of the fifty American states. During college he played in several musical groups and recorded an album of his own music. However, he wanted to be a writer, not a musician. So after college he moved to New York City to study writing.
In New York. Stevens had trouble writing stories. He discovered that he missed music. He also discovered that most of the stories he did write were about his home state of Michigan. So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan.
Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State was released in 2003. The album was a big success. Many young people and music critics liked it. Before long, Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state. He called it his “fifty states project”.
Stevens chose Illinois as his next state. He read many books about Illinois. He studied police documents and old newspapers. He talked to people who live in the state. The CD Illinois was released in 2005. Critics loved the album. It won many awards. Illinois became popular at colleges throughout the United States. People said the CD sounded different from anything else they had ever heard.
Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters. People have said that he is writing about Oregon, Rhode Island, or Minnesota. However, no one but Stevens knows for sure.Why does Sufian Stevens plan to make an album about each of the American states?
| A．To excite the music talent in ordinary Americans. |
| B．To record an album of his own music. |
| C．To let people know more about all the American states. |
| D．To go on writing stories. |
What did Sufjan Stevens do to make an album of songs about a state?
| A．He played in several musical groups. |
| B．He studied documents and newspapers and talked to people there. |
| C．He moved to New York City to study writing. |
| D．He kept his next state a secret from reporters. |
Which of the following can serve as the proper title for the passage?
| A．Fifty States Project |
| B．The Fifty States in America |
| C．Songs About American States |
| D．Sufjan Stevens and Michigan |
A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did, he would not say hello to neighbors or passers-by, but simply glare at them.
The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man.
As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. “What do you want?” the old man said.
“Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and, uh, I was wondering if you would like to buy one.”
The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man’s house and saw that he had dog figurines (小雕像) on the fireplace. “Do you collect dogs?” the little boy asked.
“Yes, I have many collectibles in my house. They are my family here. They are all I have.”
The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. “Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors. It is perfect for you. I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much.”
The old man was ready to close the door and said: “No, boy, I don’t need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye.”
The little boy was sad for the old man because he was alone in the big house. Then he thought of a little dog figurine that he had got some years earlier from an aunt. The boy headed back down to the old man’s house with it. He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. “Boy, I thought I told you no magazines.”
“No, sir. I know that. I wanted to bring you a gift.” The boy handed him the figurine and the old man’s face lit up.
The old man was surprised and said: “Boy, you have a big heart. Why are you doing this?”
The boy smiled at the man and said: “Because you like dogs.”
From that day on, the old man started coming out of the house and greeting people. He and the boy became friends.
This simple nice act changed both of their lives forever.How did the boy feel when he first knocked on the old man’s door?
| A．Excited. | B．Sad. |
| C．Frightened. | D．Silly. |
What can we learn from the article about the old man?
| A．He preferred dog figurines to real dogs. |
| B．He longed for (渴望) friendship with others. |
| C．He found his neighbors unfriendly. |
| D．He was sad because he felt alone. |
When the boy knocked on the door again, ________.
| A．the old man was impatient with him |
| B．the old man refused to open the door |
| C．he didn’t think the old man would open it |
| D．he wanted to sell a magazine to the old man |
With the story, the author tries to show us that _______.
| A．smiling is the best way to make others feel comfortable |
| B．we should help strangers if they are angry |
| C．being kind to others can have a positive effect on our lives |
| D．you need to do something special if you want to make friends |
Sunny English Club
For students
16:00--18:00 Every Saturday
200 Yuan a month
9 Zhou Yu Street
Tel: 3785290
Foreign teachers, English songs and films and more!
Ocean Museum
9:00--17:00 From Thursday to Sunday
Ticket: 50 yuan
132 Xue Yuan Street
Tel: 5439871
Show you a full picture of sea lives!
Health Centre
9:00--17:30
16 Yong Le Street
Tel: 3801451
Free examinations for those over 70
Give you good advice to keep healthy!Sunny English Club is for _______.
| A．nurses | B．policemen |
| C．businessmen | D．students |
You will pay ________ if you want to stay in the English club for a month.
| A．200 yuan | B．300 yuan |
| C．400 yuan | D．100 yuan |
One can get free examinations in Health Centre if he is ________.
| A．9 | B．17 |
| C．67 | D．73 |
If you are interested in the life of fish, you should go to________.
| A．Health Centre | B．Ocean Museum |
| C．Sunny English Club | D．16 Yong Le Street |
When can you go to Ocean Museum?
| A．On Monday | B．On Tuesday |
| C．On Wednesday | D．On Saturday |
Dinner customs (风俗) are different around the world. If you are a dinner guest (客人) in Ghana(非洲的加纳), this information will help you.
In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are no strict rules about time in Ghana. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food.
When you go to a home, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyone welcomes you. Then you go to the dinner room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water. All the food is on the table.
In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else. But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of the dish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water.
Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder（粉末） of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw（锯） because it is very hard and like rubber（橡胶）. You must chew fufu well, or you can get sick. You eat fufu with fingers of your right hand only.If you are a dinner guest to a family in Ghana, you’re first ________.
| A．told to wash your hands |
| B．taken to the dinning-room |
| C．told some strict rules about dinner |
| D．taken to the living-room |
In the fourth paragraph, the writer wants to tell us ________
| A．what to eat in Ghana |
| B．how much time to spend on a dinner. |
| C．the way of eating |
| D．different food at a dinner |
The word “chew” in the last paragraph means ________
| A．smell | B．taste |
| C．presses with your hands | D．crush with your teeth |