Teens Enjoy Reading
According to a survey on reading conducted by the U.S. National Education Association (NEA), young Americans say reading is important—more important than computers and science. Over 50% of the twelve to eighteen years old children interviewed said they enjoy reading a lot. Seventy-nine percent find it stimulating and interesting, and 87% think it is relaxing. Most of those surveyed (68%) disagree with the opinion that reading is boring, or old-fashioned.
Teens Read Variety of Material
Over half the teenagers interviewed said they read more than ten books a year. The results also showed that middle-school students read more books than high school students. Most teens (66%) like to read fiction, such as novels and stories. Only 26% were interested in non-fiction, such as biographies and history books. Sixty-four percent of students liked reading ‘stories about people of my own age’ as their favorite topic. Mysteries and detective stories came second on the list at 53%. Just under 50% said they were interested in reading about their own culture and heritage.
Other Interests
Of the teenagers who participated in the survey, 49% said that libraries are where they get most of their books. However, many complained that their school libraries do not have enough up-to-date, interesting books and magazines. Even though many teenagers in the U.S. enjoy reading, they still have other interests. When asked which activity would be the most difficult to give up for a week, 48% said listening to music. TV would be difficult to give up for 25% of those surveyed.
Another survey which is published by www. SmartGirl.com studied the differences between teenage boys’ and girls’ reading habits. According to the report, more girls than boys read for fun. Many more girls (77%) than boys (6%) read fashion and beauty magazines. More boys (47%) than girls (7%) read magazines about video games, but an equal number of each like to read adventure stories and newspapers. Girl also read more material about celebrities and social issues such as crime, drugs, or poverty. Boys, on the other hand, read more about sports.Most teens enjoy reading______.
| A．history books | B．novels and stories |
| C．about their own culture | D．about science |
The teens think that ________ is the most difficult to give up.
| A．reading books | B．watching TV |
| C．reading magazines | D．listening to music |
The proper headline for paragraph 4 is ______.
| A．Teens’ Reading Habit | B．Another Survey about Teens |
| C．Boys’ and Girls’ Interests | D．Boys’ and Girls’ Habits Differ |
One day a man found a cocoon(茧) of a butterfly in the forest. He sat there for several hours and watched the butterfly. Suddenly a small opening appeared, and the butterfly made its great effort to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the butterfly could come out easily. But to his surprise, the butterfly got a heavy body and very small wings when it came out of the cocoon.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that the body would grow smaller at any moment and the wings would become larger and be able to fly. But neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling (爬) around with a heavy body and small wings. It was never able to fly.
The man was in his kindness, but he did not understand the nature rules. Before the butterfly came out of the cocoon, fluid(流体) from its body must be forced into its wings, and then it would be ready for flying. It must have a hard struggle (拼搏) to get through the small opening to get its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any difficulties, it would make us fail. We would not be as strong as we could have been; we could never fly.What was the butterfly doing at the beginning of the story ?
| A．It was trying to make a cocoon for itself. |
| B．It was struggling to get out of its cocoon. |
| C．It was flying among the trees in the forest. |
| D．It was crawling around quietly on the ground. |
The man cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon
| A．to take the butterfly home |
| B．to help the butterfly come out easily |
| C．to kill the butterfly |
| D．to stop the butterfly growing bigger |
What do you think of the man?
| A．Patient but cruel. |
| B．Careful and wise. |
| C．Kind but unwise. |
| D．Brave and funny. |
What does the last paragraph（段落） tell us?
| A．Struggles are sometimes necessary in our life. |
| B．Nothing is difficult if we put our heart into it. |
| C．Every good deed will come back with good result. |
| D．The greatest happiness in the world is to help others. |
What is the best title for the story?
| A．The Love for the Cocoon. |
| B．The Joy of Helping Each Other. |
| C．The Lesson of the Cocoon. |
| D．The Expectation for the Butterfly. |
I have a pen pal in Canada. His name is Simon. He lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is twelve years old. He also studies in a middle school.
Simon lives in a happy family. His father is a policeman and his mother is a bank clerk (职员). Simon and his parents like exercising. They almost exercise every day. Simon’s father is tall. He is good at playing basketball. Simon’s mother likes playing volleyball.
Simon usually gets up at 6.30 am. He eats his breakfast at home. Then he goes to school. It’s kind of far from the school to his home, so he usually has his lunch at school.
Usually, Simon does his homework four times a week. Simon likes watching TV. He usually watches TV for about one hour every day. He goes to bed at nine.Where does Simon come from?
| A．England. | B．America. | C．Canada. | D．China. |
How many people are there in Simon’s family?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．Five. |
What does Simon’s father do?
| A．He is a policeman. | B．He is a student. |
| C．He is a bank clerk. | D．He is a teacher. |
Where does Simon usually have lunch?
| A．At school. | B．At home. |
| C．In the students’ homes. | D．In the teachers’ homes. |
How long does Simon usually watch TV a week ?
| A．One hour. | B．Two hours. | C．Five hours. | D．Seven hours. |
All students need to have good study habits. When you have good study habits, you can learn things quickly. You can also remember them easily.
Do you like to study in the living –room? This is not a good place because it is usually too noisy. You need to study in a quite place, like your bedroom. A quiet place will help you only think about one thing, and you will learn better.
Before you begin to study, do not forget to clean your desk. A good desk light is important, too. You should turn up the desk light. You will feel tired easily if there isn’t enough light.When you have good study habits, you will __________ .
| A．learn things quickly | B．remember things easily |
| C．think about one thing | D．both A and B |
The living-room is not a good place for study because it is too ____ .
| A．quiet | B．noisy | C．good | D．clean |
You’ll feel tired easily if the light is _________ .
| A．good | B．enough | C．bad | D．wonderful |
Before you begin to study, don’t forget to ________.
| A．clean the desk | B．tidy the room |
| C．wash your face | D．take a deep breath |
In what place can we only think one thing?
| A．In the bedroom. | B．In the sitting-room. |
| C．In the living –room. | D．Near the desk. |
Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. 1t is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is small. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
Enough laws (法律)have been made to fight against pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth， the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flower exhibition (展览). There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flower exhibition. After visiting Perth we spent a day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path(小路) at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is well-known for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.Australia is ________.
| A．the largest country in the world | B．larger than China |
| C．as large as Shanghai | D．not as large as China. |
Enough laws have been made to ________.
| A．increase the population | B．grow more plants |
| C．fight against pollution | D．show wild flowers |
Perth is ________.
| A．the capital of Australia | B．in the west of Australia |
| C．in the east of Australia | D．the biggest city in Australia |
In Perth you may visit a wild flower in ________.
| A．October | B．January | C．May | D．July |
Which of the following sentences is true?
| A．All the big cities in Australia are seriously polluted. |
| B．Australia is well-known for its sheep, kangaroos and large population. |
| C．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep. |
| D．If you go to the town in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep. |
Are the lives of city kids the same as those in villages? In lots of ways, they are very different. But what are the differences?
Hu Peng and his four friends decided to find them out. Earlier this month, they went to live for a week at Huagui Village near Xishui. They went door to door there and asked kids there lots of questions. They wanted to learn more about village kids’ everyday lives, so they asked questions like these: Do your parents teach you how to do housework? How much money do you usually spend on dinner? What would you do if a thief comes into your houses? They also asked 150 city kids the same question.
On April 12, the team gave a report to their class. They told about lots of differences between children’s lives in cities and those in villages. The biggest difference is independence. Hu’s team say that more than 60 percent of city kids can’t do much housework, but more than 80 percent of village kids can care for themselves.
City kids told Hu they cared about school a lot, and they had no time to wash clothes or make their beds. Village kids said they helped their parents with a lot: they cook, clean houses and feed farm animals, Hu’s team also saw that village kids had less pocket money. Many never use computers. They play in rivers or on mountains. Some don’t really like to make new friends.
Hu’s team said their trip gave them more self-confidence(自信心) because they were doing something by them-selves. But it also worried them a bit because they saw they still had a lot to learn. “When we grow up, our parents can’t take care of us,” Hu said. “We have to learn to take care of ourselves. ”
请根据短文内容完成下表信息：
| Kids in the city |
Kids in the country |
| Can’t do much housework |
|
| No time to wash clothes or make bed |
|
| Have pocket money |
Have less pocket money |
| Use computers |
|
| Don’t like to make new friends |