In China， the 12th month of the lunar calendar（阴历） is called Layue． The month is full of interesting festivals and customs．
Laba Festival， which is on the 8th day of Layue， is the first festival in this month． From this day on， people begin to get ready for the Chinese New Year．
On Laba Festival， people eat hot Laba porridge． There are usually eight things in the porridge： rice， red beans， peas， dried lotus seeds， dates， and three different kinds of fruits and nuts． The porridge is not just good for your health， but a blessing for the coming of Chinese New Year．
Laba porridge is not the only tasty food in Layue． Laba garlic（腊八蒜） is popular in the north． People begin to soak garlic in vinegar from that day on， and eat it with dumplings during the Chinese New Year． While in the south， people like making sausages．
Another major celebration before Spring Festival is Xiaonian． It is usually on the 23rd or 24th day of the last lunar month． Traditionally it is an important day when people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God who looks after the family．
Don't forget to clean your home． This is also an important thing to do to prepare for the Chinese New Year． It means sweeping away the dust of the old year and welcoming a fresh start． Now， the last thing for you to do is to wait for the coming Spring Festival．
（1）When is Laba festival？
（2）What do people often eat on Laba Festival？
（3）Is Laba garlic popular in the south？
（4）What do people do on Xiaonian？
（5）Why do people clean their homes before the Spring Festival？
One midnight, a little girl woke up to get water. She got up and down her bed by herself, walked to the bedroom door and opened it. She looked outside and walked back, for it was so dark in the living room that she feared. Her mother told her not to be afraid and take courage.
“ What is courage? Do you have courage?” She asked, running to her mother’s bed. “ Courage is the brave breath（气）. I have it.” Her mother answered. The girl held out her little hands and asked her mother to give her. After her mother blew out two mouthfuls of breath into her little cold hands, the little girl clenched her fists（握拳）nervousely, afraid that the “breath of courage” would run away. Then with her fists clenched, she walked out of the bedroom towards the bathroom with nothing to fear.
Her mother said to herself, “ It’ll be nice if someone can blow some kind of breath to me. Then I can hold it in my hands too when I feel terrified or lost.
In fact, mostly, what we are terrified of is nothing but the fear in our mind. Who we should deal with is nobody but ourselves.The girl walked back because______.
| A．the bedroom door was locked. | B．She wasn’t thirsty anymore |
| C．her mother wouldn’t go with her | D．She was too afraid of the dark |
To stop “mother’s breath ”from running away, the girl______.
| A．clenched her fists | B．held her own breath |
| C．held out her little hands | D．talk to her mother |
The writer mainly wants to tell us that______.
| A．children learn to be brave quickly. |
| B．the fear in one’s mind is the real problem. |
| C．adults are always brave enough. |
| D．the mother can deal with anything with breath. |
Harry Potter is a set of popular books created by J.K.Rowling in Britain. The books tell us somestories about a talented wizard (天才魔法师), Harry Potter. When he was eleven years old, he had anunhappy life. However, a strange letter changed everything. It said he was accepted by Hogwart's magic school which was closed to the common people. All kinds of adventures (冒险) happened toHarry from then on. He met Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on his way to school. They becamegood friends later. Harry did well in his lessons and worked hard to play magic. Harry always had apositive attitude(态度)when he faced the difficulties. With the help of his friends, he tried his best to beatthe enemies. Finally, the world peace came back. Smile appeared on everyone's face. If someone wantsto know what takes place in the magical world, he will have to read the set of books by himself!
| The information about Harry Potter |
|
| The time when he had an unhappy life |
At the |
| The feature of Hogwart'smagic school |
Not |
| The place where he |
On his way to school |
| The end of his adventures |
The world peace |
| The way someone knows the magical world |
Reading the set of books by |
Gregg Bleakney’s dream was to travel the Americas from top to bottom. He got the idea after he finished a long bike ride. Gregg’s friend, Brooks Allen, also liked riding a bike. The two friends talked and made a plan: they would travel from Alaska to Argentina – by bike.
To pay for the trip, Gregg and Brooks worked to save money for a long time. Once they were on the road, they often camped outdoors and ate cheaply. In many places, local people opened their doors to the two friends and gave them food.
On their way, they passed deserts, rainforests and mountains. They visited modern cities and ancient ruins (遗迹) such as Machu Picchu in Peru. And they made many friends from all over the world.
In May 2007 – two years, twelve countries, and over 30,500 kilometres later – Gregg finally reached Ushuaia, Argentina. (Near Guatemala, Brooks had to go back and Gregg continued without him.)
The trip taught both men a lot about traveling. What did they learn? Here is some of Gregg’s advice:
Travel light. You should carry many things with you.
Be flexible (灵活). Don’t plan everything. Then you’ll be more relaxed, especially if there are problems.
Be polite. One traveler told Gregg, “Nobody wants to fight or cheat a nice man.” It’s true.
根据文章内容填写5个空处，每空不限一词。每题1分Gregg Bleakney’s dream was to _______________________.
Before traveling, the two friends _____________________ to pay for the trip.
___________ got to Ushuaia, Argentina in May 2007.
According to the passage, if you don’t plan everything for a trip, ___________________.
One traveler told Gregg that nobody wants to __________________________.
DearDisney,
Lastweekend,thefourmembersofmyfamilyspentanenjoyableholidayattheMagic Kingdom - Disneyland. And one event made our visit seem truly magical.
WegottothefrontofthelineatSpaceMountain,onlytofindoutthatourlittledaughterGloria
couldn’ttakeherice-cream on the ride. We were so excited that we all forgot ice-cream was not allowed on the ride.
Gloriabrokeintotearsandweallhadnoideawhattodo.ThenMurphy,oneofthestaff(员工) members, came over. She bent down and told Gloria that she would hold the ice-cream for her and give it to her when she finished the ride. Gloria said, "Promise?" Then she gave Murphy her ice-cream, and she completely enjoyed the ride.
Sureenough,aswewalkedouttheexit,therewasGloria’snewfriendwith"her"ice-cream.
Now you and I both know what happened, because we know that an ice-cream won’t last twenty minutes on a summer afternoon in Florida. Murphy knew what time we would get off the ride. she went to the nearest shop and bought a brand-new ice-cream thirty seconds before we walked out the exit. Gloria said, "Thank you," but I’m sure she thought it was the same ice-cream.
Weknowthatsomeonetriedhardtomakeourvisitspecial.Thankssomuchforgoing above and beyond!
Yourfan,
CarmenRivera Thefamily’svisittotheMagicKingdomwas________.
| A．helpful | B．awful | C．frightening | D．enjoyable |
Beforetheride,Gloriacriedbecause_________.
| A．shecouldn’tfindherparentsintheline |
| B．shewastoolittletotaketheride |
| C．shecouldn’ttakeherice-creamontheride |
| D．shehadtowaitfortwentyminutes |
MurphywaswaitingforGloria___________aftertheride.
| A．intheice-creamshop | B．attheexit |
| C．inthefrontoftheline | D．attheentrance |
Inordertokeepthepromise,Murphy__________.
| A．tookGloriatothenearestshop |
| B．askedhernewfriendtohelpGloria |
| C．helpedGloriagetofftheride |
| D．boughtanewice-creamforGloria |
Theunderlinedword"someone"inthelastparagraphrefersto(指的是) _________.
| A．Murphy | B．Disney | C．Gloria | D．Carmen |
Shopping on the Internet is becoming more and more popular. Why do people use the Internet to shop? Some people say it is more convenient. They don't have to leave their homes to order something; they can shop for anything they want at any time; they can find things for sale that they can't find in the Mores near their homes. Still other people say they can find better prices on the Internet.
If you want to buy something on the Internet, you need a credit (信用) card. You have to type your credit card number and information on the website (网页) and send them to the store over the Internet. You have to be sure that the store will not use your information in the wrong way. You don't want someone to get your credit card number, so be careful with it, because people sometimes steal (偷) credit card numbers from stores.
TV Internet is also a good place to go window-shopping. Window-shopping is when you look at the things for sale in a store, but don't plan to buy anything. In window-shopping you can see what kinds of things you are able to get and how much they cost. Some stores like Ross Stores have a website for information about their Mores, but not for shopping. Some stores have a website for information about their stores, and you can shop on line there, such as Office Depot, Payless Shoe Source and Safeway. Some stores like Amazone.com are only for on line shoppingSome people use the Internet to shop because ______.
| A．they can sleep all day long | B．they want to leave their homes. |
| C．they want to play with their friends | D．they can get things with less money. |
The Chinese meaning of the word “convenient” in this passage is “______”.
| A．时髦的 | B．较近的 | C．方便的 | D．可用的 |
If you want to shop on the Internet, you need ________.
| A．an ID card | B．a credit card | C．an IC card | D．a room card |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．You can shop on-line at www.officedepot .com |
| B．You can not shop on-line at www.rossstores.com. |
| C．You can only do window-shopping at www.amazone.com. |
| D．You can shop on-line at www.safeway.com. |
Why should we be careful with our credit card number?
| A．Because it will be changed. |
| B．Because the store will not use your information. |
| C．Because we can not use your credit card when shopping. |
| D．Because people sometimes steal credit card numbers. |