A strong storm hit the town of Carlton. Some people had cuts and bruises (青肿)，but no one was badly hurt. The storm destroyed many buildings and bridges. So some people become homeless.
The people of Carlton helped one another put their town back together. One of those people was Leah Torres. Leah had an idea to collect food, clothing and other items, such as soap, dishes and towels, for people in need. Leah felt happy that she could help.
Leah was proud of her town. She decided to write a letter to the president of the United States. In the letter she told him about her town’s efforts (努力). She said that the nation might be able to solve its problems if people followed Carlton’s example, Leah didn’t tell anyone about her letter. Half a month later, when Leah and her parents turned on the television one day, the president was giving a speech. He began to read from a letter. Suddenly Leah recognized (认出) the sentences.
“That’s my letter!” she told her parents .
The next day Leah got a call from the White House. An assistant to the president was on the phone. “The president wants me to thank you for your letter,” he said. “He agrees with you that people should work together. He says that one person can make a difference in a town. And sometimes he can make a difference in a whole country. ” (选自课外必读书目《快乐英语阅读》，初二年级 第2卷，略有改动)
Where did this story happen?
A. The USA. B. The UK. C. Japan. D. China.What happened to the town of Carlton?
| A．An earthquake. | B．A storm. |
| C．A flood. | D．A heavy snow. |
Which of the following did Leah collect for people in need?
| A．Television. | B．Bikes. | C．Money. | D．Clothing. |
When did she find her letter on the television?
| A．About two weeks later. | B．About a week later. |
| C．About a year later. | D．About a month later. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Only the government could help the homeless. |
| B．We should try to write a letter to the president when we have problems. |
| C．Sometimes a person can make a difference in a whole country. |
| D．We shoul learn to live independently (独立地) when we are in trouble. |
Cell phones_(移动电话)are all around us．We use cell phones to call our friends，send text messages，play games，and even take photographs． Now imagine using your cell phone to call your air conditioner(空调器)． If this were possible you could tell your air conditioner to rum on before you got home．Does this sound impossible to you? Well，it could become possible sooner than you think．In the near future，we might use cell phones as remote controls(遥控器)for the electrical devices(电器)in our homes．People are already working to develop different ways to communicate wirelessly(无线的) with devices we use every day．For example，it is already possible for cell phones to communicate with laptop computers．Business people using laptops during meetings Call use their cell phones as remote controls．They can use their cell phones to send instructions to computers to turn on，change pictures，and turn off．
With the same technology(技术)，people can use their cell phones to control other devices．You can call your stereo(立体声音响设备)to play music automatically(自动地)．You can call your lights to turn on when you enter a room．Maybe even by next summer you will be able to call your air conditioner !What is the main idea of this passage?
| A． In the future we will all need air conditioners． |
| B．Business people need to use computers． |
| C．Some people like to make phone calls to machines. |
| D．We will use cell phones as remote controls in the future． |
Cell phones can be used to rum on and off __________in the future．
| A．a special computer |
| B．different kinds of devices |
| C．cell phone companies |
| D．remote controls |
Which probably could NOT be controlled by a cell phone?
| A．An air conditioner or heater． |
| B．A computer or printer． |
| C．A table or a basket． |
| D．A CD player or MP3 player． |
The underlined words “laptop computers” mean_____?
| A．台式计算机 | B．大型计算机 |
| C．便携式计算机 | D．计算机控制中心 |
Which instructions can be sent to a laptop according to the passage?
| A．Play sound and music． |
| B．Start and shut down． |
| C．Call again and hang up． |
| D．Go faster and go slower． |
If someone says to you: “give me five”, do not search your pocket to get five yuan! It will make others laugh! The person is not asking for your money, but your fingers.
In the US, "give me five" or "give me the high five" is a popular action. You can see it often in moves or on TV. It means the slapping (拍) of each other's raised right hands together.
People do it when they meet for the first time or something happy happens. For example, a student has good marks in exams or wins a lottery ticket (彩票).If a football team wins a game, the players will give high fives to everyone around to celebrate.
This action may come from the old Roman action of raising the right arm for the emperor(皇帝). This showed that the person raising his arm did not have a knife in his hand. Why not try to give the high five to your friends?“Give me five” is an action to _______.
| A．make people laugh | B．ask for money |
| C．celebrate success | D．search one's pocket |
The action “give me five” is the slapping of _______.
| A．toes | B．hands | C．arms | D．legs |
When you ______, you give your friends high fives.
| A．lose your money | B．go back home |
| C．win a football game | D．do badly in exams |
The action started in _______ according to the story.
| A．Rome | B．America |
| C．China | D．Britain |
Why did the Romans raise the right arm for the emperor? Because ______.
| A．they were proud of their emperor |
| B．they were happy to see the emperor |
| C．they wanted to show there were no knives in their hands |
| D．We don't know |
Life in Britain
Homes and families
Many British people live in Houses, not apartments. Most houses have gardens.
Daily life
Most office workers start work at about nine in the morning, and finish at about five or six in the afternoon. Most people don’t go home for lunch, and they just have a quick meal.
School life
Children start school at about nine am, and finish at about three thirty pm. Most children have lunch at school. All children go to school when they are four or five years old, and leave when they are sixteen or seventeen.
Shops
Most shops open at about nine am and close at about six pm. Usually, they don’t close for lunch.Many British people live in _______ .
| A．apartments | B．parks |
| C．houses | D．gardens |
Most offices start work at about ______ in the morning.
| A．ten | B．nine | C．eight | D．seven |
Most office workers and school children don’t have lunch _____ .
| A．in the garden | B．in the shop |
| C．at home | D．at school |
The children in Britain usually study at school for_____ .
| A．sixteen or seventeen years | B．twelve or thirteen years |
| C．four or five years | D．four years |
Can you buy things in the shops at lunch time?
| A．No. They close for lunch. |
| B．Yes. But there is no people in the shop. |
| C．No. Shops open at 1pm. |
| D．Yes. They don’t close for lunch. |
On April 22, people all over the world always do something meaningful for the Earth that we all share. It’s Earth Day, a special day to learn about our planet and how to take care of it.
On Earth Day, some people listen to speeches about the environment. Others help clean up their offices or save water and electricity at home. Your parents may even decide to take a day off from driving their cars.
The idea for Earth Day came from a US senator(参议员), who was worried about pollution and the health of plants and animals.
Now, Earth Day has become a great celebration around the world. In 1990, 200 million people from 140 countries and areas took part in clean-ups, tree planting and other environmental events on Earth Day.
回答下面5个问题，每题答案不超过6个词。When is Earth Day?
What speeches do some people listen to on Earth Day?
Who came up with the idea of Earth Day?
How many people celebrated the first Earth Day in cities in the USA in 1970?
What has Earth Day been used to educate people to do since 1970?
A primary school in Wuhan has used new desks and chairs to prevent students from getting short sight.The desks and chairs make students have the correct posture(座姿), especially when reading and writing. Each desk has an adjustable(可调节的)steel bar(铁架). The bar can help students keep their eyes at least 30cm from books.
Zhang Jianming is headmaster of the primary school. She said the new desks and chairs were provided by an eye care centre in the city. The school carried out a survey last September. It showed that about 7 per cent of its 1,093 students said they suffered from short sight.
The new desks and chairs have already improved the students’ posture, but both teachers and students might need more time to get used to them.
Yang Lihua is head of the Wuhan Youth Eye Care Center. She said the desks and chairs were introduced to 19 schools on a trial basis(试行). “During our research into short sight, we noticed that the number of students with short sight was increasing. This is because parents are teaching their children to read and write at a very early age without paying enough attention to their posture,” she said.
Feng Junying is a doctor at Beijing Jingshan School. “I think the new desks and chairs in Wuhan will certainly be helpful,” she said. “But bad reading habits at school are not the only reason for short sight. Children are using mobile phones and iPads when they are very young. This can be another reason for short sight at a young age.”
According to the passage, the adjustable steel bar can help the students keep their eyes ________ from books.
| A．20cm | B．25cm | C．29cm | D．32cm |
The schools in Wuhan introduced the desks with bars to the primary school students in order to ________.
| A．make students grow tall |
| B．help students have the correct posture |
| C．help students love reading |
| D．not allow students to use mobile |
Feng Junjing’s words mean ________.
| A．the number of students with short sight is increasing |
| B．the students don’t get used to the new desks and chairs |
| C．bad reading habits are not the only reason of the students’ short sight |
| D．the new desks and chairs are useless for the students to improve their eye sight |
From the passage, a good way to protect our eyesight is to________.
| A．buy an adjustable steel bar |
| B．go to the Youth Eye Care Centre often |
| C．have a correct posture when we are studying |
| D．read less and use mobile phones and iPads less |
We can infer( 推断)the passage is probably from ________part of a newspaper.
| A．Education | B．Culture | C．Technology | D．Medicine |