Most American families are smaller than the families in other countries. Most American families have one or two parents and one or two children each.
Children in the US will leave their parents’ home when they grow up. They usually live far from their parents because they want to find good jobs. They often write to their parents or telephone them. And they often go to visit their parents on holiday.
Parents usually let their children choose their own jobs. Americans think it important for young people to decide on their lives by themselves.
Children are asked to do some work around their house. And in many families, children are paid for doing some housework so that they learn how to make money for their own use.The size of most American families is ________ that of other countries.
| A．larger than | B．smaller than |
| C．as big as | D．as small as |
When children grow up, they leave their parents’ home to _________.
| A．get married | B．be free |
| C．find good jobs | D．study |
Which of the following statements is WRONG?
| A．Children can choose their jobs by themselves. |
| B．Parents don’t ask their children to do the housework. |
| C．Parents think it important for children to choose their own jobs. |
| D．When children grow up, they usually live far away from their home. |
"What's wrong， Carina？" Collin asked． "Homesick again？"
His sister nodded．
"Yeah， me too．" Collin sighed（叹息）．
Their family had moved to the new place nearly four months ago． The new place was housed inside a huge transparent dome （透明的圆屋顶）． It still didn't feel like home．
"I miss my friends，" Carina said sadly． "And green grass and swimming， and everything． I even miss the sound of rain on the roof（屋顶）．"
"Worst of all，" Carina continued， "my birthday is in two days， and I don't think Mom and Dad are planning anything special． They're too busy．"
"She's probably right，" thought Collin． Life here was very busy for scientists like their parents． He doubted if they had time to plan a party． And how could they anyway？ Things such as balloons and birthday candles didn't exist here． They didn't even have enough materials to make a cake．
"Don't worry．" Collin put an arm around Carina's shoulder．
Collin walked toward the agricultural center， where his mom worked． He found her taking notes on some tall tube﹣like plants．
"What are those？" he asked．
"Bamboo plants，" said Mom． "They're strong and grow fast． They make good building materials．"
"May I have a piece？"
"Sure．" Mom handed one to him and made a note on her notebook．
The next day， Collin made tiny holes into the piece of bamboo and put small nails（钉子）into each hole． He poured a handful of pebbles（鹅卵石） inside and covered the open ends．
Collin held the bamboo piece carefully as he hurried home． He hid it behind his back and opened the front door． To his surprise， Mom and Dad were home early from work． Mom was carrying something that looked like a cake．
He looked closer and realized Mom had made a cake with dried apples and cinnamon（肉桂皮）sugar．A real treat， on the Moon．
Collin handed his sister the bamboo rod． "Happy birthday!"
"What is it？" Carina asked， looking at it curiously．
"A rain stick，" said Collin． "Whenever you turn it over， the pebbles fall around the nails and it sounds like rain．"
Carina turned the stick， and the room was filled with a sound like rain drumming on a roof．
"It's Moon Rain!" she said． "It makes me feel like I'm home．" She smiled at Collin and turned the rain stick over again．
（1）What may be the best title of this passage？
A． Bamboo Plants
B． Moon Rain
C． Homesick Again!
D． United Family
（2）What can we know from the passage？
A． This passage is part of a science fiction written for scientific research．
B． The family moved to the new place in order to do some sightseeing．
C． Their new home was on a dry land on the earth far from their old one．
D． Carina didn't think her parents would plan anything special for her birthday．
（3）Which of the following can best describe Collin？
A． Careful and brave．
B． Caring and creative．
C． Generous and intellectual．
D． Romantic and popular．
Influenza， or flu（流感）， is a type of virus． It spreads from one person to another quickly． When someone who has the flu coughs or sneezes， little droplets from their lungs （肺） spread out into the air．Anyone nearby can get sick． Even a person who touches something with the virus and then touches his or her mouth， eyes， or nose， can become infected（感染）．
The outbreak of the 1918 influenza infected about 500 million people worldwide． It killed from 20 million to 50 million people． It was first seen in Europe， the United States， and parts of Asia．It then spread quickly around the world． Many people who became sick were young， healthy adults．At the time， no treatments worked in the prevention of the spread of the killer flu． People were ordered to wear masks． Schools， theaters and other public places were closed．
When the first wave（波＞in the spring of 1918 hit， it didn't seem serious． People who were infected felt the usual flu symptoms（症状）， which are chills， fevers， and feeling tired． Those who got sick generally got better after several days． Not many died． However， a second， highly contagious（传染的）wave of influenza appeared in the fall of that same year． Victims died shortly after they were infected ﹣ within hours or days． Their skin turned blue and their lungs were filled with liquid（液体），making it very difficult to breathe．
By the summer of 1919， the flu pandemic（大流行病） came to an end． Sick people had either got well or died． Almost 90 years later， in 2008， researchers announced they'd discovered why the 1918 flu was so deadly． The flu virus inflamed （使…恶化）the lungs， causing them to fill with liquid．
Since 1918， there have been several other influenza pandemics， although none has been quite as deadly．
（1）What information about the 1918 flu is mentioned in the passage？
A． The reason why it was so deadly．
B． The reason why it ended．
C． The change it caused to medical research．
D． The place in which it was last seen．
（2）All the people that were infected with the 1918 flu ．
A． had blue skin that led to their death
B． had touched someone with the virus
C． died as their lungs were filled with liquid
D． had the virus in their bodies that made them sick
（3）Which of the following statements about the 1918 flu is TRUE according to the passage？
A． Wearing a mask was the best way to treat it．
B． A younger person had a lower risk of being infected with it．
C． People expected the coming of its second wave， but couldn't stop it．
D． It was deadlier than any other influenza pandemic in modern history．
With so much free time on our hands during lockdown， many of us have entertained the idea of knowing more about the world． Learning a foreign language is a good choice． Here are a few examples， in order of time it takes people to learn them．
Latin languages （about 600 hours）
The popular Latin languages ﹣ Italian， French， Spanish and Portuguese ﹣ require about 600 hours to learn． Of these， Spanish and Italian are the easiest for English speakers to learn． They are followed by Portuguese and finally French．
Latin languages share many words with English．However，those shared words look or sound similar， but have different meanings over time．
Greek （1，100 hours）
Modern Greek is maybe the easiest language to learn that uses a different alphabet（字母表）．It is also a language that has contributed many words to English． Indeed， the president of Greece once gave two speeches at an international meeting that included just Greek loan words（外来词） as well as the unavoidable basic English．
Japanese （2， 200 hours）
Counting objects in Japanese depends on whether they are long and thin （like "roads"）， small and round （like "apples"）， thin and flat （like "sheets of paper"）， and hundreds more examples．
What Japanese you speak also depends on your gender（性别）． There's a "rough" language for men and a more "ladylike" language for women， but you must understand both．
Chinese （2， 200 hours）
Each Chinese written word is hardly understandable when spoken between a Mandarin （普通话） speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Guangdong． If you think that's strange， consider our number system： the symbol "2" is widely understood but it's pronounced "two" in English and "duex" in French．
（1）For an English speaker， which of the following is the easiest to learn？
A． Japanese．
B． French．
C． Greek．
D． Italian．
（2）What can we learn from the passage？
A． The same word in two languages always has the same meaning．
B． The English language and the Greek language use the same alphabet．
C． Objects are counted differently in Japanese according to their shapes．
D． A Mandarin speaker and a Cantonese speaker write Chinese differently．
（3）The purpose of this passage is to tell English speakers ．
A． how to learn some foreign languages
B． why they must learn a foreign language
C． some information on the difficulty of foreign languages
D． not to choose an Asian language to learn as it is too hard
"Four great inventions" in ancient China are important symbols of the country. Now China has "new four great inventions"， high﹣speed trains， mobile payment， bike sharing and online shopping. They are changing people's lives in China and maybe all over the world.
High﹣speed trains
By the end of 2016， China had the world's largest high﹣speed railway network. More than 2，500 high﹣speed trains are running across China each day.
Lin Jinlong， an overseas student from Cambodia， shared his experience of traveling by Chinese high﹣speed train from Beijing to Tianjin. The two cities are over 100 km away， but the trip took only about half an hour. "That was amazing!" Lin said.
Mobile payment
Mobile payment has become a part of Chinese people's everyday life. It makes their lives much more convenient. "My wallet is not in use any longer. I can buy almost anything I want simply with my mobile phone，" said Lin. "Even vegetable sellers are using mobile payment."
Bike sharing
Bike sharing is not new itself， but the bike sharing in China is special﹣it allows users to pick a bike anywhere in the city and leave it anywhere at the end of their journey. It's really convenient， cheap and green. A bike sharing company called Mobike has even brought the service to other countries.
Online shopping
You are out if you have never shopped online. Now you can buy almost everything from websites like Taobao and JD， and get what you've bought within days. China's online shopping makes many foreigners feel both excited and amazed.
（1）Do "new four great inventions" only change people's lives in China？
（2）When did China have the world's largest high﹣speed railway network？
（3）Why does Lin say his wallet is no longer in use？
（4）What does the writer think of bike sharing？
（5）Where can you buy almost everything if you shop online？
"We all have suffered from the air pollution. If we don't call for an end to the firecrackers （鞭炮）， the environment will get worse and worse in the future. " said Zhang Wei. He put up a notice in his neighborhood. In the notice， he called on more people to set off（引爆） fewer firecrackers during this year's Spring Festival.
Lots of parents agreed with Zhang Wei. They said that they hated the noise of firecrackers. The noise often wake up their babies easily. And the babies really needed a quiet place to have enough sleep.
More Chinese are looking forward to celebrating the holiday in greener ways. Many people decide not to set off firecrackers. They decided not to waste food. They think that the new ways are fashionable（时尚的）.
"My family didn't buy firecrackers this year. Instead， we gave the money away to a charity. It's good for the environment and the charity the Internet user "Fighter" wrote on the Blog.
In my opinion， it's very important for us to celebrate our traditional festival﹣the Spring Festival. But it's more important to reduce air pollution and protect our environment. We had better express our cheerful feeling and best wishes in greener ways. We need more people like Zhang Wei or "Fighter" who uses electronic ways like QQ， Wechat or Blog. I believe more and more people will join them and our environment will get better and better.
（1）Where did Zhang Wei put up a notice？
A. In his office.
B. In the street.
C. In his neighbor hood.
D. In his house.
（2）What did many parents think of Zhang Wei's idea？
A. It was bad.
B. It was good.
C. It was not successful.
D. It was not useful.
（3）Which of the following is fashionable according to the passage？
A. Eating a lot of food.
B. Making more money.
C. Celebrating in a greener way.
D. Setting off more firecrackers.
（4）What's the best title of the passage？
A. Don't Waste Food
B. The Spring Festival Goes Green
C. Firecrackers and Noise
D. The Christmas Holiday