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 |
Let's say you are taking a walk along the road and you happen to see one or two waste bottles lying on the grass beside the road． What would you do？
You may have different choices． Firstly ，you can leave the bottles there as they are． It was not you who threw them away． Why should you do something about it？ This is quite OK． Secondly， you can pick them up and throw them into a dustbin （垃圾箱）． By doing this，you have walked a step further to help make our homeclean． This action is a better choice． Thirdly， you might want to pick them up and give them to an old man or woman who collects waste for a living． If this is your choice， you have walked even further． You're not only thinking about doing something for the environment， you're also developing yourself to be a person who would think of others and help them．
As for young kids， they may always have such a question："When do I grow up？"Yes! When does a child grow up？ And how can a kid know he or she has grown up？These are interesting questions．As for us，fifteen﹣year﹣olds，who are finishing middle school， we're no longer younger children．We should know whether or not we have grown up． When we start to have a sense of offering a helping hand for a cleaner city and greener world， and when we have a loving heart to think more of others than of ourselves and are ready to help them， we can say that we have grown up．
Remember： If we help others， others will help us． If we do our best for nature， nature will offer its best to us in return !
（1）How did the writer start the passage？
The writer did it by giving a（n） of daily life．
（2）How many choices are there in the second paragraph？
There are choices．
（3）What does it mean when you pick up the waste bottles and give them to someone else？
It is a sign that you're a person that has grown up．
（4）What does the underlined word "home" refer to in the second paragraph？
It refers to the " " we live in．
（5）How did the writer support the main idea in the passage？
The writer used as an example to support the idea．
New Zealand offers free school lunches to thousands of kids
WELINGTON， Feb． 20 （ Xinhua） ﹣"Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on schooldays under the government's free and healthy school lunch program，" Prime Minister （首相）Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday．
"The program is for 7 ，000 students at 31 schools right now． The number will extendto 21 ，000 students in 120 schools by the start of 2021 ，"Ardern said while she was serving up lunch at a school in Hawke's Bay．
"A full stomach makes all the difference to a child's learning，" Ardern said．
"Providing a free and healthy lunch at school is one way to help New Zealand become the best place in the world for school children． And people can see that difference right away，" she said． She added that providing these lunches was also a great way for local families to have jobs．
"The program is one of 75 plans from New Zealand's CYWS （ Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy）． It started last year and developed with the money from 10 ，000 New Zealanders including 6，000 young people ，"said Education Minister Chris Hipkins．
（1）What kind of writing is it？
| A． |
Story． |
| B． |
News． |
| C． |
Email． |
| D． |
Invitation． |
（2）The underlined word "extend" here means " "．
| A． |
increase |
| B． |
double |
| C． |
remain |
| D． |
fall |
（3）From the second paragraph， we know that Ardern was when she explained the program．
| A． |
planning for the free lunch program |
| B． |
giving lunch to the school children |
| C． |
thinking how to provide jobs for local families |
| D． |
collecting money from New Zealanders |
（4）By "A full stomach makes all the difference to a child's learning," Ardern meant that " "．
| A． |
learning well mainly depends on eating |
| B． |
learning to eat a proper lunch is important |
| C． |
eating has nothing to do with learning |
| D． |
children will learn better if they eat well |
People use languages to communicate．Any language has its ways to express people's minds．One of the ways in common is the use of idioms．An idiom is a group of words．It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning．For example，under the weather is an idiom meaning ill．So when people say "I'm under the weather，" they are saying that they're not feeling well． Another example， in all weathers means in all kinds of weather． So， "There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot．
Different languages may have different ways to make idioms． For people who are learning a foreign language，idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless headaches． On the other hand，if things are done right， idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk．
Metaphor （比喻） is often used in idioms． Let's read the following two examples：
●It makes my blood boil （煮沸） when people litter．
●The night was dark and quiet； my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside at dark night．
In neither situation above， our blood can reach the point so high or so low in temperature．Yet， with the situations the two sentences created， it is not difficult to work out the unhappy feelings of really angry in the first example and very afraid in the second．
Of course，not all idioms are this easy to understand．When we come to idioms of a foreign language，a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested．
（1）This passage tells us something about in the English language．
| A． |
grammar |
| B． |
writing |
| C． |
reading |
| D． |
idioms |
（2）If your brother breaks your computer， you can say to him， " "
| A． |
I'm under the weather |
| B． |
I'm there in all weathers |
| C． |
You've made my blood boil |
| D． |
My blood runs cold |
（3）What is the writer's advice when you come to an expression like under the weather？
| A． |
We should look it up in a good idiom dictionary． |
| B． |
We should try to express our minds with it． |
| C． |
We should find an interesting way to learn it． |
| D． |
We should create situations to guess its meaning． |
BEAUTIFUL VALLEY FARM
Come with your whole family for a fun， relaxing day or weekend．Pet and feed the animals， ride or walk around the farm，and use our game room and swimming pool．Three delicious meals are served each day．
Open weekdays 8A．M． to 8 P．M． and all weekend． Closed Mondays．
395 Ribera North Rd． （847）233﹣6786
（1）The text is written mainly to ．
| A． |
keep a diary |
| B． |
send a postcard |
| C． |
introduce the farm |
| D． |
remember the address |
（2）At the farm， people can ．
| A． |
ride and have a walk |
| B． |
feed the animals and pick fruit |
| C． |
relax and go fishing |
| D． |
cook meals and go swimming |
（3）Which of the following is true？
| A． |
Beautiful Valley Farm is at 395 Ribera South Road． |
| B． |
You can stay at the farm 24 hours a day on weekends． |
| C． |
You can stay at the farm at 9 in the evening on weekdays． |
| D． |
To know more about the farm， people can call （874）332﹣ 6876． |
When learning is mentioned， regular school can be the first place which you can think of． However ， the Internet is changing the way students learn． Many learning apps provide rich courses for the learners to meet their levels of knowledge and interests．TED is one of them．With the Internet， learners are allowed to learn at home or anywhere else．
◆Which do you prefer： Regular School or Home School？
|
Regular school helps you learn more． And you have more chances to take part in clubs and try out different kinds of courses． In class， you can discuss problems by working in groups． |
I prefer having classes online because you can spend more time learning when you're the only student in "your class"． Having cases at home may make you very independent． |
|
I prefer regular school． You can have so many more friends and work with more people in groups． When I was having classes at home， I hated it． |
If you're a slow learner， you can fall behind in regular school． But if you have classes at home， you can learn well． I' m having classes at home， and I make much more progress now than when I went to regular school． |
|
TED This free app is a great tool for those who are interested in public speaking It provides more than 700 talks from the world's most famous thinkers， leaders and artists． It could be the first choice for many learners to develop their speaking sill． |
|
◆What can you do to improve your online studies？
To successfully learn online， you can follow these steps． First of all， you should always keep in mind what you hope to complete by the end of it． Then， a study plan is needed． A good study plan includes a study calendar and a to﹣do list． Next， when having a class， be active to think about what he teacher says and express yourself． After class， remember to review what you have learned by reading your notes or making a mind map．
With the coming of 5G， the cloud classroom might not be far away． However， whatever advantages online learning has， it just offers a way of learning． It doesn't take the place of any of the ways． There must be many more ways of learning in the future． Nobody knows what will happen．
（1）Please translate the underlined sentence into Chinese．
（2）According to the passage， why do people choose TED？
（3）What's the common advantage of regular school according to the students？
（4）What can we infer（推断）about Michael from his words？
（5）Please complete the second step in the chart（图表）．What else can you do to improve your online studies？
（6）What do you think the way of learning in the future will be like？ Why？
