In Singapore，many middle school students spend a lot of their time on their studies. Good education is often regarded as a ticket to success in their future. So，many of these students try their best to get good grades in their examinations．They have a lot of homework every day and exams are a big headache．Sometimes，some of them are even made to go to remedial（补习的）classes after schoo1．
Schools run programs outside school hours．The students can take part in sports and games，music and dance，hiking and rock-climbing(攀岩)，etc．They are also very active in community service（社区服务）．
In their spare time，most students like to listen to pop music．And Hollywood blockbusters（大片），Hong Kong and Singapore movies are very popular among them．They understand IT very well．Some of them also spend their free time surfing the Internet，e-mailing their friends，playing computer and video games．
They sometimes go to cafes，fast-food restaurants，shopping centers and big bookstores．
So，it looks like life as a middle school student in Singapore is not easy but it is rich and colorful.
Many students want to get good education to be in the future．
| A．popular | B．successful |
| C．comfortable | D．generous |
In the school，the students can’t outside school hours.
| A．have sports | B．dance |
| C．go hiking | D．go to a restaurant |
According to the passage，most students in Singapore like ．
| A．watching movies | B．writing to their friends |
| C．talking to their friends | D．having exams |
Do you like to know how other people see the world？Listed below are of the best books for children．
|
Oliver and Patch |
Oliver is a lost little boy．He doesn't know anybody and is afraid in a big city．One day he meets Patch，a little dog who is also lost．The two become best friends．They help each other．Together they have an adventure in the city．However，Oliver knows that Patch's owner must be very worried and missing Patch．What should Oliver do？ |
|
A Dance Like Starlight；One Ballerina's Dream |
This is a young girl's story about how she wants to become a ballerina（芭蕾舞演员）．She will do anything to make her dreams come true．She livers in a poor place，and it is very difficult．The young girl fights through a hard life，but she never givers up．This story comes from the true life of the first African﹣American ballerina，Janet Collins． |
|
Absolutely Almost |
Alfie is not very smart and he is not sporty，either．He is not very tall，and he is not good at art．Because of this，he feels like he will not be good at anything．Now he meets Calista，his new babysitter（保姆）．Calista helps Alfie see all of the good things he can do．Alfie learns to be proud of being himself．This story is full of feeling and laughter． |
（1）The three books are mainly written for ．
A．dog owners
B．children
C．babysitters
D．Ballerinas
（2）Oliver is a young boy who ．
A．gets lost in a big city
B．wants to learn to dance
C．is not good at art
D．Was born in America
（3）When you read Absolutely Almost，you will probably ．
A．feel afraid
B．fall asleep
C．laugh a lot
D．become smart
Once，Louis the Twelfth，the King of France，happened to walk into the kitchen of his palace．There he found a small boy busy at work and singing happily．
The boy had bright eyes，and a happy，sunny face，and his looks and manners pleased the king．With a smile Louis asked him his name．He replied that his name was Simon．In answer to further questions，the king learnt that the boy was an orphan； both his father and mother were dead．
"Are you content（满足的）to do this kind of work？"the king asked，pointing at the bowls which the boy was washing．"Are you willing to spend your time in the kitchen when so many of the others work upstairs？"
"Why not？"answered the boy，with a twinkle in his eye．"I am doing as well as the best of them．The king himself can do no better．"
"Indeed!" said the king，no little surprised at the boy's words．"How do you know that？"
"Well，sir，the king lives，and so do I．I am content with my life．Can the king say that he is content with his life？"
Louis walked away，his mind full of strange，sad thoughts．No one knew better than he did that kings seldom feel content．
The next day，much to Simon's surprise，he was called before the king．He was still more surprised when he found that his visitor of the day before was Louis himself．The king talked with him about many things，and found him to be a very quick and clever boy．
After that Simon was made to serve the king directly．Step by step，he rose from one important task to another，until he became one of the best soldiers of that time．He is known in history as General La Roche，and considered as one of the greatest men of France．
If Simon had not，early in life，learnt to be content with his life，he might never have been given those chances．The king did not want people who were always unhappy because they did not have as good a place as some others．You cannot too soon learn that only those who are content are happy．
42．What did Simon do before he met the king？
A．He sang in the king's kitchen．
B．He served in the king's army．
C．He worked in the king's kitchen．
D．He guarded the king's palace．
43．Simon was made to serve the king directly because he ．
A．was content with his life
B．knew what the king thought
C．did as well as the best of others
D．had bright eyes，and a happy，sunny face
44．Which of the following is the correct order about Simon？
①He served the king directly．
②He found the visitor was the king．
③He became one of the best soldiers．
④He had a chat with a visitor in the kitchen．
⑤He is a well﹣known man in French history．
A．①②⑤③④
B．④②⑤①③
C．③④②①⑤
D．④②①③⑤
45．We can learn from the story that ．
A．being content makes us happy
B．working hard can lead to success
C．it is important to believe yourself
D．Children are always more honest．
Some English words have more than one meaning．These are called multi﹣meaning words．
Multi﹣meaning words have the same pronunciation with different meanings．For example，let's look at the word “ball” ．You could have a “ball” which means you would have a good time．You could toss a “ball” which means you throw an object．You could be on the “ball” which means you know what is happening．You could go to a “ball” which means a dance．
______Take the word “can” ．You “can” ride a bike which means you are able to ride a bike．You have a “can” of soup which means the soup is in a round﹣shaped holder．You can do the “can﹣can" which is a dance from the 1920s．And you might get “canned" if you do a poor job at work，which means you might lose your job．
How about “fly” ？You can “fly” an airplane or you can hit a “fly” that is on your food in your house．Or，you can “fly by the seat of your pants" which means you don't make a plan before taking an action．And，you know that the “fly” of a zipper（拉链）is the top part of the zipper．
There are hundreds of words that are multi﹣meaning words．The word "set" has more meanings than any other word in the English language．When you have time，why don't you try to think of all the ways the word "set" is used？
If you look at the title of this book Can a Fly，Fly？…you know that the answer is "Yes" because you have seen an insect named a “fly” go up in the air and move around through the air…which is what “fly” means．Can a Fly，Fly？Of course，it can!
（38）If Tom is often late for work and fails to finish his tasks，he will
A．do the can﹣can
B．get canned
C．be on the ball
D．go to a ball
（39）According to the passage，the word " " has the most meanings in the English language．
A．ball
B．can
C．set
D．fly
（40）Which of the following is the best sentence to fill in the blank in paragraph 3？
A．Let's try another word．
B．Let's make a word list．
C．Here's a survey report．
D．Here's the guessing game．
（41）The writer writes the passage in order to ．
A．tell a story about learning English words
B．introduce a book on learning English words
C．share an experience in learning English words
D．present different pronunciations of the same word．
Luca Gramberini has been scuba diving（戴水肺潜水） since he was a kid．His family owns a scuba company．For the past three summers，Luca has added gardening to his underwater activities．He helps run Nemo's Garden，a project to grow plants in the sea．
From May through September，Luca and other divers are working on Nemo's Garden in the Mediterranean Sea，150feet from the coast of Noli，Italy．Five large balloon﹣like objects，called biospheres（生物圈），hold plants such as beans and strawberries．The biospheres are filled with air and placed 20feet below the surface．"My father came up with the idea because he loves gardening very much，"Luca said．
According to Luca，the sea is a good place to grow plants because underwater temperatures remain stable，changing little from day to night．The biospheres act like greenhouses．Inside the air﹣filled biospheres，fresh water keeps evaporating（蒸发），providing the plants with a good environment to grow in．"We have already seen the plants，grow faster and better，"Luca says．"And there are fewer storms that can knock down the biospheres during the summer．"
Luca hopes Nemo's Garden will provide a new way of growing crops．"There is not enough land on the Earth，"he says．"And in many developing countries，bad conditions make it difficult for crops to grow．"
Though the project has just started，Nemo's Garden has achieved success and is moving to different areas．"We're going to try growing other plants．"Luca says．"We hope to set up biospheres in other countries．There are many possibilities．"
34．Nemo's Garden is a project to ．
A．do scuba diving in the sea
B．stop storms in the sea
C．make fresh water from the sea
D．grow plants under the water
35．The underlined word "stable" in paragraph 3 means in Chinese．
A．平衡的
B．正常的
C．稳定的
D．合适的
36．The passage is probably taken from the part of a newspaper．
A．travel
B．science
C．health
D．sports
37．The best title for this passage is ．
A．Gardens in the sea
B．Projects for summer activities
C．Plants in greenhouses
D．Conditions for crop growing．
Leon was a postman．Every day Leon would wake up and feed his 37 cats．Leon didn't really want 37cats，but one by one they had appeared on his doorstep，and Leon had taken them in．
Every day，after feeding the cats，Leon would collect the mail from the red postboxes in the village and take it home．"If only I had 37helpers instead of 37cats，my job would be so much easier，"Leon thought．Just then，the cats started meowing for their dinner．That gave Leon an idea．That night，Leon worked late making 37cat﹣sized postal backpacks．Then，he went around to each postbox，putting up signs that read：Postbox closed! Please use the postal cat service．
The next day，Leon put a backpack on each cat and dropped off the cats around the village．Leon knew that the cats would be happy walking around all day．He also knew that they would always come home for dinner．Leon spent the day relaxing，waiting for his helpers to return．Leon was right．The cats did return，but they did not bring home many letters．Some got the letters wet．Some bit off the corners of the letters．Some even lost their backpacks．""Cats are just too unreliable（不可靠的），"Leon thought．
Just then，a strange sound came from the outside of Leon's door．A dirty dog was waiting to be invited inside．That gave Leon an idea．
31．In Paragraph 2，Leon that night．
A．made postal backpacks
B．put up a sign on each cat
C．had dinner with the cats
D．collected letters in the village
32．According to the last paragraph，we can infer（推断） that Leon would ．
A．let the dog take a shower
B．invite the dog to dinner
C．make the dog work for him
D．walk the dog around the village
33．From the passage we know Leon was ．
A．honest
B．brave
C．strict
D．funny．
