You may know the song Happy Birthday very well. But do you know about its writer? It was written by an American girl. And she became very rich after that.
When she was a child, she was poor. Once, she was invited to her friend’s birthday party. She was pleased but sad because she didn’t have enough money to buy a gift for her.
“The party is coming soon, but now I have little money.” Tears ran down her face.
Later that night she was in bed, thinking about the gift when the door opened and her grandma came in.“ What happened? ” her grandma asked. Hearing the girl’s story, she said, “Don’t worry. I think I can help you. How about singing a song together? Happy birthday to …”What a beautiful song! They sang and sang. Suddenly she woke up. It was a dream! She decided to write it down at once and sing it to her friends at the party.
When she sang the song at the party the next day, her friends were very happy. “How wonderfully you sing! We haven’t heard such a beautiful song before. Thank you for giving me the special gift.” said her friend. And they learnt to sing it together. Later the girl became well-known in America. The song Happy Birthday was written by .
| A．an American girl |
| B．an American girl’s grandma |
| C．an American boy |
| D．an American girl’s friend |
The girl was sad because .
| A．she didn’t want to go to the party. |
| B．she would be busy that day. |
| C．she didn’t have enough money to buy a gift. |
| D．she wasn’t invited to the party. |
What gift did she give her friend?
| A．A flower. | B．A toy. | C．An interesting book. | D．A song. |
What did her friends think of the song? It was .
| A．boring | B．beautiful | C．exciting | D．interesting |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The girl was still poor after writing the song . |
| B．The girl sang the song with her grandpa in her dream. |
| C．The girl’s friends had heard the song before. |
| D．The girl became famous because of the song. |
The famous scientist and thinker， Charles Darwin， was born on February 12，1809． His family lived not far from the River Severn， England．
Darwin's father was a well ﹣known doctor and the son of a still greater doctor and scientist．Darwin's father hoped that his son would also become a doctor．
As a boy， Darwin liked to go for walks in the fields and forests． He watched nature， and compared what he saw with everything he had read in science books． He also liked collecting very much． He collected many things， birds， eggs， stones and leaves． His father did not like this， as Darwin was not studying very well at school．
At the age of sixteen， Darwin was sent to Edinburgh Univensity to study in order that he could become a doctor． But he was interested in the history of nature．
Then he was sent to study in Cambridge Univesiy．There he studied until 1831．
Some time later he heard that the ship Beagle was going on a trip to South America and needed a scientist．His professor advised him to go．He said the trip would be just for Darwin．So when the ship left England in December 1831． Darwin was on it． The research lasted almost five years． The Beagle studied the waters in the sea near South America． It also visited New Zealand， Australia and islands in the Pacific． Darwin saw many new plants and animals． He collected all kinds of plants．
In 1842 Darwin went to live in Kent， where he continued his studies of changes in nature． Darwin understood that plants and animals are not always the same， and that they really change．
By 1859 Darwin had finished his famous book"The origin of Species"（《物种起源》）．It made a great hit in the world of science．He was opposedby the church and even by some scientists．But later，more and more scientists agreed with him．
（1）What did Charles Darwin's father do？
| A． |
A worker． |
| B． |
A doctor． |
| C． |
A scientist． |
| D． |
A teacher． |
（2）Charles Darwin had so many hobbies except that ．
| A． |
he liked to go for walks in the forests |
| B． |
he liked watching nature |
| C． |
he preferred collecting coins and stamps |
| D． |
he was fond of the history of nature |
（3）When did Darwin leave England for a trip to South America？
| A． |
In 1831． |
| B． |
In 1832． |
| C． |
In l842． |
| D． |
In 1859． |
（4）The underlined word"opposed"means ．
| A． |
接受 |
| B． |
开除 |
| C． |
反对 |
| D． |
尊重 |
（5）What can we learn from Charles Darwin？
| A． |
Don't care what parents say to us． |
| B． |
The trip can bring us wealth． |
| C． |
We should ask teachers for help when meeting problems． |
| D． |
Keep doing what we like and work hard， we' ll succeed． |
Let's Explore the Nature!
The summer holiday is coming! Do you want to have a wonderful and meaningful vacation？ If you are interested in animals and nature， come and join us!
Youth Explorer has prepared you with a Three﹣Day Summer Program! You can take part in many activities and meet with animals﹣lions， monkeys， tigers and so on! More information about the program is as follows：
Age： Students aged 10 to 15
Groups： Two programs for you to choose． Each group needs at most 15 students．
|
Program A Dates：15～17 July，2019 Days： Monday to Wednesday Time：9：30 a．m．～4：00 p．m． |
Program B Dates：6～8 August，2019 Days： Tuesday to Thursday Time：9：30 a．m．～4：00 p．m． |
Program cost：﹩200 for members；﹩230 for non﹣members
How to do：Simply come to our center to get an application form（申请表）．Send your completed form to us before July 10th，2019．
Notes：
1．No free lunches are offered．You may either bring box lunch or pay for lunch at our restaurants．
2．Both programs will start 1 DAY later if there is a warming of rainstorms．
（1）What animals can you see in the summer program？
| A． |
monkeys． |
| B． |
Pandas． |
| C． |
Foxes． |
| D． |
Elephants． |
（2）Who can join the Three﹣Day Summer Program？
| A． |
Children under 6． |
| B． |
Students over 16． |
| C． |
Children aged 7～9． |
| D． |
Students aged 12～14． |
（3）When will Program B start if there is a rainstorm on August 6th？
| A． |
On Sunday． |
| B． |
On Wednesday． |
| C． |
On Tuesday． |
| D． |
On Monday． |
（4）How much should one member and two non﹣members pay for the program？
| A． |
﹩600． |
| B． |
﹩630． |
| C． |
﹩660． |
| D． |
﹩700． |
（5）Which is TRUE according to the passage？
| A． |
There are more than 15 members in each group． |
| B． |
You can join the summer program at any time． |
| C． |
You need to hand in an application form． |
| D． |
Everyone can have free lunch at our restaurants． |
Reading is getting more popular among young Chinese． A new survey says that 85% of young people in China read at least 1 book last year． The number of young people who are reading has been rising in recent years， especially for teenagers， who read an average（平均） of 11.5 books．
The data（数据） shows that teenagers spend much more time reading from school textbooks to some other reading materials， such as novels， e﹣books， magazines and so on． But younger children （ages 2﹣8）are mainly reading for fun． Compared with the past， the time teenagers spend on pleasure reading has dropped．
When it comes to technology and reading， the surver suggests little．It does point out that many parents control the time of electronic reading， mainly because of worring about increased screen time． However， most Chinese parents are helping theie children to develop a reading habit． They are served as examples for their children． More than 70% of Chinese parents spend at least 20 minutes a day reading to their children aged 0 to 8 years old， and visit bookstores with them an average of three times a year． Data shows that kids and teens who do a lot of reading， compared to those who don't like reading， have more books in the home， and more books brought for them． Their parents read more often， and would like to spare time to read with them．
When was the last time you read a book？ If you're one of the countless people who don't develop a habit of reading， you might be missing out． Everything you read fill your head with new bits of information， and you never know then it might be useful． The more knowledge you have， the better equipped you are to deal with any shallenge you'll face． Remember that although you might lose something else， knowledge can never be taken away from you．
Now open a book， and feed your soul．
（1）Why do many parents control the time of their children's electronic reading？
| A． |
E﹣books are expensive． |
| B． |
It may harm children's health． |
| C． |
It's very hard to order． |
| D． |
It could be a waste of time． |
（2）How should parents encourage their children to read more？
| A． |
Talk with their teachers to encourage them in developing reading habits． |
| B． |
Buy more books for them in bookstores or borrow some from libraries． |
| C． |
Ask them to read more books every day through setting up reading groups． |
| D． |
Ask as role models for them， read for their children and read for themselves． |
（3）What's the survey mainly about？
| A． |
Teenagers' after﹣class activites． |
| B． |
Parents﹣child relationships． |
| C． |
Young people's reading habits． |
| D． |
Read more often for fun． |
（4）Which one of the following is most probably to be disscussed next？
| A． |
Introduce some books for young people to read． |
| B． |
Encourage parents to read more after work． |
| C． |
List some different opinions about reading． |
| D． |
Develop children's writing habits gradually． |
Many of us wish we would have longer weekend， but for about 18，000 students in Colorado， that wish is coming true． A school district outside Denver has decided to shorten its week to four days﹣from Tuesday to Friday， and the first school year on this new timetable just started，CBS Denver reports． It began on Tuesday， August 14， because the day students get off is everyone's least favorite： Monday．
Although this may sound like a dream come true， it means students will have to sit though longer school days to work more for the hours they've lost， according to The Denver Post． So the timetable seems more crowded than ever．
The decision wasn't made just to give students more days off， though：it had practical purpose． The district says that it will save ＄ 1 million by not having buses on Mondays and spending less on things like electricity and water． That means a lot to the school． However， there are different voice． Parents may pick upsome the cost of this change， though， since many will now need to stay home with their kids． If they go to work， they have to find people to take care of their children．
This isn't the first district in the state to introduce a four﹣day week：55% of the state's schools do this， but most of them are in the countryside， according to The Denver Post． Several school in Oklahoma made the some move earlier this year， and some them told CBS News Reports that more teachers wanted to teach there after the change． Most of these teachers have a lot of teaching experience． About 560 districts in timetable influence students's performance．
（1）What happens to the students in Colorado？
| A． |
They have shorter summer holidays． |
| B． |
They go to school every day． |
| C． |
They have classes only on Monday． |
| D． |
They have longer weekend． |
（2）What does the underlined phrase "pick up" in Paragraph 3 mean？
| A． |
go for |
| B． |
pay for |
| C． |
look for |
| D． |
stand for |
（3）Why do more teachers want to come to Oklahoma？
| A． |
They would like to work here with four﹣day week． |
| B． |
They'll be given more money than those in other states． |
| C． |
Students are much more money creative in class in this place． |
| D． |
Students behave better because of longer weekends． |
（4）What can we infer from the last paragraph？
| A． |
Students need to study harder to make up for the time． |
| B． |
Parents may spend more time and money on their children． |
| C． |
People in Colorado speak with one voice when facing the decision． |
| D． |
It's not clear whether the new timetable is good for students or not． |
Every year， people from every corner of the world travel to Australia to meet the kangaroo﹣the lovely， unuaual and special Australian animal that jumps all over this sunburnt continennt．There is a young kangaroo that is lucky to be alive today， thanks to meeting a pair of New South Wales teenagers．
Nick Heath and Jack Donnelly were riding their motorbikes in the bush outside Sydney on Sunday when they came across a kangaroo stuck in the mud（泥）． The boys were lucky enough to see the head of the animal sticking out of the mud at Agnes Banks next the Mepean River in southwest Sydney．
The animal was clearly in pain but the boys couldn't reach it so they raced home to get a rope．When they returned， Mr． Donnelly tied the rope around his waist（腰） and walked into the thick mud to get hold of the kangaroo while his friend then pulled them about 30m to safety．
Appearing on Today this morning， the young men retold their story．
"The kangaroo's life was important to us， so we pulled out all the stops to rescue it．" Mr． Heath said．
"We're proud of what we did． If we see something like that again， we'll doit all over．"Mr Heath added．
The animal， which was not in great health， after being saved， was handed to Wildlife Rescue Organization． It's believed that it's very hot and the kangaroo was likely searching for water in the dry conditions when it got stuck in the mud．
As for the heroes of the story， they're glad to have been in the right place at the right time to help the animal and don't care about the attention it's brought．
"Yeah， we liked it， something different．" Mr． Donnelly told reporters．
（1）Why was the kangaroo in pain when the teenagers found it？
| A． |
It got lost in the bush． |
| B． |
It was stuck in the mud． |
| C． |
It was hurt by other animals． |
| D． |
It was in poor health because of the weather． |
（2）When Mr． Heath said "we pulled out all the stops to rescu it"， he meant ．
| A． |
they tried their best to help the animal out |
| B． |
they walked out of themud without difficulty |
| C． |
they stopped to think twice before taking action |
| D． |
they were not sure it they should save the animal |
（3）Which of the following could best describe the two teenagers？
| A． |
Shy and strict． |
| B． |
Hark working and humorous． |
| C． |
Serious and clever． |
| D． |
Warm﹣hearted and helpful． |
（4）What can be a suitbale title for the text？
| A． |
Meet Kangaroo in Sydney |
| B． |
Endganered Animals in Sydney |
| C． |
Two Teenagers Saved a Kangaroo |
| D． |
A Special Interview with Two Heroes |
