Tom and Bertie were students at a boarding school （寄宿学校）． Both were sad because they had to stay at school over the（1） holiday．Tom's parents were far away from home．Bertie's sister was（2）
， so he couldn't go home until she was well．
The day before Christmas， the boys were（3） fairies（精灵）： whether they were somewhere to make them happy over the Christmas． （4） ， Tom's aunt， Laura， appeared．She invited Tom to her home． Tom's face shone with happiness． However， when he saw Bertie，he turned to his（5） ．
"Dear Aunt， "he said， "I am very sorry， but I can't go．" "Can't go？And why not？"
"Because I can't leave Bertie alone， "he said．" When I was going to be（6） ，he asked his mother to let me go home with him． And， he has（7） been away from home at Christmas time before， so I can't go without him．"
For a （8） ． Aunt Laura looked at Tom as if she could not believe him．Then she caught him in her arms and kissed him．
"My dear， you shall not（9） Bertie． We shall all enjoy ourselves together． Boys， remember，it is kindness that is never wasted in this world． "
So Bertie and Tom（10） that there was such a thing as a fairy after all．
（1）A． summer |
B． winter |
C． Christmas |
（2）A． angry |
B． sick |
C． lonely |
（3）A． playing with |
B． fighting with |
C． talking about |
（4）A． Firstly |
B． Suddenly |
C． Slowly |
（5）A． aunt |
B． friend |
C． teacher |
（6）A． free |
B． alone |
C． out |
（7）A． never |
B． ever |
C． always |
（8）A． week |
B． day |
C． minute |
（9）A． refuse |
B． help |
C． leave |
（10）A． found |
B． hoped |
C． doubted |
I don't use my mobile phone a lot at night，as its blue light is to my eyes．（harm）
LEGO is one of the that can develop children's creativity．（toy）
I offered my seat to an elderly man，but he refused ．（polite）
Little Tom has just celebrated his birthday．（nine）
Prepare for Water Day Zero
Last year，Cape Town said it was facing Water Day Zero．That was the date when the city's taps would go dry．It was first expected to arrive in April，2018． Thanks to hard efforts and a rainy season，it has been put off（推迟）．（1） ．And it may hit cities all over the world．
How did Cape Town get into a Water Day Zero situation？The city gets its water from six reservoirs（水库）．They usually fill up during the rainy season，from May through August．However，since 2015，the city had been suffering from its worst drought（旱灾）in a century．（2） ．Even worse，Cape Town's population grew greatly．As a result，the need for water rose．
（3） Because of climate change，serious droughts are becoming more and more common．At the same time，people are moving to cities．The United Nations says by 2050，two thirds of the world's population will live in cities．Since 2014，southeastern Brazil has been suffering from its worst water shortage in 80 years．In Mexico City，many of the 21 million people only have running water for half of the day．
Luckily，steps can be taken to avoid water crises（危机）．To start with，all of us can do something to save water and slow down climate change．（4） At the same time，water pollution must be stopped．
The world now has a chance to stop a series of Water Day Zero crises． If we don't act，many cities may soon face a time when there isn't a drop to drink．
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A．Cape Town is not alone． B．The serious situation seems to be improved． C．Water levels in the reservoirs became very low． D．Cities can build more water﹣recycling factories． E．However，the problem is very likely to appear again． F．More and more countries are paying attention to the problem． |
