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？
阅读短文，按要求回答问题．
Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254．When he was 17，he travelled across Europe and Asian along the Silk Road with his father，who wanted to do trade with the Chinese．Finally they arrived in Beijing．They were guests at the Emperor's Palace．Although Marco was young，he was very clever and could speak four languages．The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends．He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to do many important tasks across the country．
Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was．He was impressed bu Beijing and the Emperor's Palace，especially the Summer Palace which he described as "The greatest palace that ever was…"The walls were covered in gold and silver and the hall was so large it could easily seat 6，000people for dinner．"
There were inventions and developments in China which couldn't focused in Europe at that time．Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets．In Europe，people paid for goods with gold and silver．He could not understand how people pay for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat．The black stones were coal，but Marco had never seen coal before!
In 1291，after 17years of service to the Emperor，Marco returned to Italy．He was now a very wealthy man．A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World，which became one of the best﹣selling books in Europe．
Although people enjoyed reading the book，many of them thought that Marco's stories about China were too fantastic to be true．But Marco always stood by his tales．Just before he died，aged 70，Marco was asked the question，"Was it all true？"And this was his answer："I have only told a half what I saw!"
69．Why did Marco Polo and his father travel to China？
70．What does Paragraph 2mainly tell us？
71．Marco Polo saw that there were inventions and developments in China which couldn't be found in Europe at that time．Give TWO examples．
72．Was Marco Polo the writer of the book The Description of the World？
73．What does the last sentence"I have only told a half what I saw!"mean？ ．
Hannay was nervous．His enemies were searching for him．All around him were grassy hills without trees．He had nowhere to hide．How could he escape？
Hannay walked along the country for a long time．Then he saw a road worker，who was working alone，fixing the road．Hannay could see the road worker was not feeling well．Hannay came up to him and said "How are you？"
"My head hurts，"the worker said，"I can't do it．I want to go home to bed．My daughter got married yesterday，and I drank a lot of wine with my friends．That's the problem!"
Hannay agreed that he should be home in bed．
"Yes，and I would be，"he replied，"but yesterday I received a message saying that the new surveyor was coming to look at my work．If he comes and finds me away，I'll be in trouble．"
Suddenly Hannay had bright idea﹣﹣he could act as the road worker and get away from his enemies．
"You go off to bed，"Hannay said，"I'll do your job until the new surveyor comes．"
The road worker was pleased with this idea．He gave Hannay his hat and his old coat．Then he went home to sleep and perhaps to drink a bit more．Hannay put on the worker's hat and coat and began to fix the road．About an hour later he heard a voice．
"Are you the road worker？"it asked．
It was the new surveyor．He was a young man with a clean face．He sat in a small car．
Hannay said yes．The surveyor told him about some work he wanted him to do before he came by again and drove off．Hannay continued with his work．
Then a village boy came by．"What has happened to the road worker？"he asked．
"He stayed at home today，"Hannay replied．"He's sick．"
At about midday，a large car came down the hill and stopped near Hannay．Three man got out of the car．Hannay's heart beat fast．He knew his enemies were coming…
38．What is this passage probably taken from？
A．A history book．
B．A travel book．
C．A novel
D．A science book．
39．Why was the road worker feeling ill？
A．He had a cold．
B．He hadn't eaten all day．
C．He had been working all day．
D．He drank too much at his daughter's wedding．
40．Who did NOT come by while Hannay was working on the road？
A．The surveyor．
B．The road worker's daughter．
C．Hannay's enemies．
D．A village boy．
41．What can we infer （推断）from the story？
A．Hannay helped the road worker because he was warm﹣hearted．
B．The grassy hills were a perfect hiding place for Hannay．
C．The surveyor had lot of working experience．
D．The village boy knew the road worker．
42．What is the correct order of the story？
①Hannay met a road worker who was not feeling well and offered to take over for him．
②Hannay was worried because his enemies were following him．
③A car stopped near Hannay and three men got out．
④Hannay acted as the road worker when the surveyor came by．
⑤The village boy wondered what had happened to the road worker．
A．②→①→④→⑤→③
B．②→①→④→③→⑤
C．①→④→②→⑤→③
D．①→④→②→③→⑤
Dear Headmaster，
Lately our class has become worried about the environment at the back of the school，and we would like to do something to make it more attractive．We have done some research and have come up with a plan．With the help of our parents，we can do most of the work ourselves，but we will need a small amount of money for equipment，plants﹣and paint．I am writing to ask the council for permission to do this work and to ask if the school council could donate 500towards our project．
We would like to turn the empty land at the back of the school into a nature garden．We would plant trees and grasses，make paths through the garden and dig a small pond．We think this would provide a peaceful place for students and teachers to walk in．It would also attract birds，insects and small animals which students could then study in science classes．We would also like to paint the back wall of the school that faces the new garden．Some of our art classes could then paint a huge picture on it．It might be possible to paint over the wall each year so the next classes can make a new picture．
Lastly，we would like to paint all the rubbish bins．At the moment they look old and the paint is coming off．If we paint them in bright，attractive colours，students might be more likely to use them．We think our plan would greatly improve the back of the school and everyone in the school would benefit．We have already asked our parents and they have promised to donate one weekend of their time to help us complete the project．
We hope you will give us permission for this worthwhile project and will be able to donate the ＄500we need．When we have finished the work，we hope the council will join us in a celebration morning tea so that the whole school can thank you．
Yours sincerely，
Jim White
Monitor of Class 1，Grade 9
34．This is a letter from a to a ．
A．student； headmaster
B．student； teacher
C．Teacher； headmaster
D．headmaster； student
35．How many things does Jim White ask the school for to complete the project？
A．One
B．Two
C．Three
D．Four
36．How much time have the parents promised to help with the work？
A．One morning
B．One day．
C．One weekend
D．One week．
37．What is NOT in the plan？
A．Doing some painting work．
B．Making morning tea every day．
C．Making paths through the garden．
D．Growing trees，grass and flowers at the back of the school．
The contents below are taken from the book Extra Reading for Middle Schools．
31．What skill does this book help students with？
A．Listening．
B．Speaking．
C．Reading
D．Writing．
32．If you want to learn about school in old times，which page will you turn to？
A．Page 13．
B．Page 44．
C．Page 57．
D．Page 76．
33．Which sentence is TRUE according to the contents of the book？
A．Unit 6is about happy holidays．
B．Module Task in each module has 6pages．
C．One of the units talks about how to live a healthy life．
D．There are four units and one module task in each module．
A new rubbish sorting system （垃圾分类系统） has been put into use in Fangchengyuan Community in Beijing． Local people not only sort their rubbish， but also put QR codes（二维码） on it．
"When the rubbish is collected and the codes are seen， I will get reward points to exchange for small gifts and even some money，" one of the local people told reporters． "It's really creative and encouraging．"
This smart system has been carried out in 350communities in Beijing． The capital of China has joined a list of cities in the country that take action to support rubbish sorting． For example， Shenzhen and Shanghai have made laws to punish sorting rubbish correctly．
China produces quite a lot of rubbish every year． Much of the rubbish is buried（填埋） in soil or burned without being sorted． Landfills（填埋场） take up a lot of land and have a risk of polluting the soil and water nearby． And burning rubbish can produce harmful gases． Through rubbish sorting， we can reduce the use of landfills and air pollution．
What's more， rubbish sorting saves resources， which could bring economic benefits（经济利益）． For example， a ton of waste paper can be reused to make about 850kg of paper， saving 17trees and 50percent of water． Because of their benefits， some countries have developed successful sorting systems．
Japan has a strict and detailed system． When people throw away a water bottle， the cap， the wrapper（包装纸） and the bottle itself have to go into three different bins． Every year， families receive special rubbish sorting timetables and directions from their local governments． They are advised to follow the timetables and directions when they throw away rubbish．
In Australia， every family is provided with three rubbish bins﹣﹣the red lid（盖子） bin for "general waste" like food and plastic bags， the yellow lid bin for "recycling" like steel and glass， and the green lid bin for "green waste" such as grass and leaves． On the streets， the bins are printed with pictures of the things that are allowed inside． It makes recycling quite easy．
41． What will local people probably get if they put daily rubbish into the new system in Fangchengyuan Community？
A． A computer．
B． A car．
C． A lot of money．
D． Some small gifts．
42． Which of the following is NOT the consequence（后果） of burying rubbish？
A． Polluting soil．
B． Polluting water．
C． Taking up a lot of land．
D． Saving resources．
43． Which paragraph discusses the economic benefits of rubbish sorting？
A． Paragraph 3．
B． Paragraph 4．
C． Paragraph 5．
D． Paragraph 6．
44． In Australia， which bin should you put food left after dinner in？
A． The red lid bin．
B． The yellow lid bin．
C． The green lid bin．
D． The black lid bin．
45． Which of the following is TRUE according to the text？
A． In Australia， the green lid bin is used for all kinds of recyclable（可回收的） wastes．
B． In Japan， all kinds of things for recycling are printed on rubbish bins．
C． Japanese people cannot throw a bottle into a bin unless they move away the rapper first．
D． Australian people have to obey local timetables and directions to throw away rubbish strictly．