People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents. Big Ben is not a person. It’s a clock. Big Ben is the great clock hanging up in a tower of the parliament building. The people of London like to see Big Ben’s four friendly faces. They like to hear the bell striking (敲)on the hour. Bong! Bong! Bong!
Big Ben’s story started in 1834. In that year the old parliament building was burned down. Its clock tower fell to the ground. There had to be a new building and a new clock. Plans were made. They called for a “King of Clock, the biggest and the best in the world”. So the clock had to be big. And it had to keep very good time. In two years the big clock was made. Five more years went by before the clock tower was last finished. Then the four bells for the chimes (鸣响) were brought into the tower. And at last the big hour bell was put in place. It rang out for the first time on July 11, 1859. This great bell had to have a name. A meeting of parliament was called to pick one. “This clock is the king of clocks,” one man said. “Let’s call the bell the Queen of Bells.” “Then why not Victoria?” said another (Victoria was the British queen (英国女王) at that time). The talk about names went on and on. Then Benjamin Hall got up to speak. He was a big man. By this time they were all tired. Someone shouted, “Why not call it Big Ben and be done with it?” Everybody laughed, and the meeting was over. But it was called Big Ben from then on. Not just the bell but the whole clock.In 1834, what happened to the clock tower?
| A．People finished the clock tower. |
| B．People sold the clock tower. |
| C．People polluted the clock tower. |
| D．The clock tower broke down. |
Big Ben is the name of a _______.
| A．building | B．clock |
| C．beautiful girl | D．city |
In which year might Victoria be the British queen?
| A．1583 | B．1768 | C．1620 | D．1863 |
Which is the best title (标题)for this passage?
| A．Why Big Ben Is So Big |
| B．British Parliament Building |
| C．How Big Ben Got Its Name |
| D．British Queen Victoria |
It started as a game．Wendy and Peter were in River Park．They watched the boats in the river and visited the zoo．They played on the slides and swings．They watched the merry－go－round，but they did not have money for a ride．They ate their sandwiches at a picnic table．Suddenly Wendy jumped up．
“I know what to do，”she said．“Look at all that junk under the tables．Let’s pick it up．”
So they picked up paper and empty boxes and cans．They put them in the green cans marked“Litter”．Peter’s dog Stoopy picked up some paper and ran away with it．Peter called him back and took it from him．Then they taught Stoopy to carry trash for them．They put it in the cans．They worked until there was no trash left on the picnic grounds．
The next day their friends Mario and Andy came to the park with them．They helped to tidy the picnic grounds again．Then they ran all over the park looking for litter．They tried to see who could find the most．After that，it was a game they played every time they came to the park．
One day，a man came with a camera．He watched what they were doing．He asked to take a picture for them．Then he took them all for a free ride on the merry－go－round，even Stoopy．The next day their picture was in the newspaper．It said．“Five Litter Lifters at River Park”．After that all their friends wanted to be litter lifters．It was the beginning of a club that was a model for others to follow．Why did Wendy and Peter go to the park at first?
| A．To have fun． |
| B．To throw paper． |
| C．To empty litter cans． |
| D．To ride on the merry－go－round． |
What did the man with the camera do?
| A．He helped the children pick up litter． |
| B．He helped them catch Peter’s dog． |
| C．He took a picture of the litter lifters for a newspaper． |
| D．He took a picture of all the trash on the ground． |
What did Wendy and Peter teach Stoopy?
| A．Not to bark at people． |
| B．To empty litter cans． |
| C．To stand beside them． |
| D．To help pick up litter． |
What does the story show about Wendy and Peter and their friends?
| A．They were big for their age． |
| B．They were glad to help． |
| C．They would rather work than play． |
| D．They found a way to make money． |
What does the last part of the story show?
| A．The man with the camera joined the club． |
| B．People laughed at the children for picking up trash． |
| C．Other children began to help keep the park clean． |
| D．People came and took the litter cans away． |
Chores weren’t popular at my house．My children didn’t like to do chores．They always saw me do chores，but they hardly ever helped me do them．
A year ago，I made a game called“The Endless Chore Game”．It’s really great．Here’s how the game works．
I make a card with forty squares（方框），and I write a different chore on each square．These chores can be easy and interesting like making dessert．Then my family roll the dice（骰子）to decide what chores we have to do．The card also has a few squares with fun things，like watching TV and singing．If you’re lucky，you can watch TV when the others are doing the chores．
My son likes the game very much．He goes to the kitchen happily every morning to do the game．It’s really a good way to make my children do chores．You can have a try if you have the same problem as me．The writer’s family began to do the game________ago．
| A．one year |
| B．one month |
| C．two years |
| D．two months |
What do you need to do“The Endless Chore Game”?
| A．A card． |
| B．A dice． |
| C．A card and a dice． |
| D．A card and forty dice． |
When do the writer’s family do the game?
| A．In the morning． |
| B．In the afternoon． |
| C．In the evening． |
| D．The other day． |
We can learn from the passage that________．
| A．the writer only has one child |
| B．everyone in the writer’s family likes playing the game |
| C．the writer wrote this passage to the parents |
| D．everyone in the writer’s family has to do the chores every day |
The writer made this game to________．
A．do less chores
B．tell us an interesting game
C．make her children happy
D make her children do chores
Feeling left out?
It’s hard when a best friend isn’t around — maybe because she moved to a different school or a different class. You may feel lonely at break or lunchtime．You want to have new friends. But how do you make them? Maybe it seems like everybody else already has their friends. But remember, there’s always room for more friends.
Start by looking around your classroom — think about which kids you’d like to play with at break. Look for chances to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Offer to share something or express your appreciation (欣赏) to them. Invite someone to play with you or say “Do you want to sit here?” in the lunchroom. When you’re at break, walk over to kids you want to play with．act friendly, and say “Hi，can l play, too?” or just join in.
If you have trouble doing this or if you’re feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching up friends. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Be kind, be friendly, share, say nice things, offer to help — and pretty soon, you’ll have one, or two, or even more new friends.
You might still miss that special best friend．But when you see each other, you can share something you didn’t have before she left. You can introduce her to your new friends!This text is written for .
| A．teachers | B．parents |
| C．students | D．visitors |
According to the writer, some kids feel lonely at break because they .
| A．have trouble with their studies |
| B．don’t have their best friends around |
| C．need their parents to be with them |
| D．are too young to look after themselves |
The underlined word this in Paragraph 4 refers to .
| A．sharing your ideas |
| B．developing new friendship |
| C．studying better at school |
| D．talking before many people |
Some kids need help from teachers to make friends because .
| A．they miss their old friends a lot |
| B．they have no time to stay with others |
| C．teachers know who wants a new friend |
| D．they are shy or not good at making friends |
The expression “feeling left out” means “” in Chinese.
| A．受冷落 | B．被调侃 | C．挨批评 | D．遭攻击 |
In today’s world of modern science and medicine, a more traditional treatment is once again becoming popular-animal friendship.
It is now well-known that people with problems such as heart disease or cancer live longer and get better more quickly if they have pets. Keeping pets lowers blood pressure and makes people less worried. Animals are increasingly important in treating older people who have memory loss and other brain problems. These people often feel nervous and upset. Activities with animals help them improve their physical condition and also give them joy, entertainment and loving friendship.
Here is a case that shows the benefits of animals. John was a six-year-old mute. He had no physical problems. He just refused to talk. His older cousin, Ned, had a parrot called Sally, and John used to visit it. When he arrived, Net used to say, “Hi, John!” We all know parrots copy what they hear. After a few visits, Sally began saying “Hi, John!” when John came into the room. Then, one day, John turned to the parrot and replied “Hi, Sally!” Staying with the parrot encouraged John to begin talking.
Another use of animal helpers is in schools. In some cases, animals are used to help children with physical or personal problems. In other cases, they are used to teach children to get on and share with others, and even to teach them about animals.
If you want to know more about animal helper programs, you can get in touch with organizations like Riding for the Disabled or do a search under “animal therapy” on the Internet. You don’t have to be an animal trainer or a doctor to join in.Which is NOT mentioned as an illness that animals can help with?
| A．Heart disease | B．Cancer |
| C．Fever | D．Blood pressure |
The underlined word “mute” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to “_______”.
| A．a person who speaks slowly |
| B．a person who does not speak |
| C．a person who cannot hear |
| D．a person who enjoys talking |
The purpose of paragraph 3 is to _______.
| A．show how animals can help with illnesses |
| B．discuss the problems of keeping pets |
| C．describe how to train animal helpers |
| D．introduce some new medical research |
How can animals help school children according to the passage?
| A．They can improve children’s memory. |
| B．They can make children more popular. |
| C．They can increase children’s blood pressure. |
| D．They can teach children to share with each other. |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Be kind to animals |
| B．Talking to animals |
| C．The most dangerous diseases |
| D．Get healthy with animal helpers |
There are many wetlands（湿地） in China and some of them have become the world's important wetlands. The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are among them. They are in Yancheng Jiangsu Province. They are home for many different kinds of birds and animals. The world's largest Milu Deer Nature Reserve（自然保护区） is in them. More than 700 milu deer live freely there. There are not many red-crowned cranes in the world， but every winter you can see some in the Red-crowned Cranes Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea Wetlands.
The temperature in the wetlands is usually neither too high nor too low. There is a lot of rain and sunshine， too. They are really good places for wildlife（野生生物）. Offering food and home for some special kinds of animals and birds is not the only reason why we need to protect wetlands. Wetlands are important because they also prevent flood. But some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife.
Luckily， more and more people are beginning to realize the important of wetlands and wildlife. Every year， on February 2nd， many activities are held to tell people more about wetlands.The Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands are in the _______ of China.
| A．east | B．south | C．west | D．North |
Usually the weather in the wetlands is _______.
| A．hot | B．pleasant | C．cold | D．dry |
The World Wetlands Day is on _______.
| A．April 22 | B．June 25 |
| C．February 2 | D．March 22 |
We must protect wetlands because _______.
| A．they are home for wildlife |
| B．they can prevent flood |
| C．they can offer food to the animals and birds |
| D．all of the above |
The best title for the passage is _______.
| A．China's Wetlands Have All Entered the World's List |
| B．Wetlands-Home for Wildlife and Human Beings |
| C．Special Animals in the Chinese Yellow Sea Wetlands |
| D．Wetlands-Valuable Recourses（珍贵资源） of Land on the Earth |