Li Mei's friends sent her some postcards from different countries. 
                                                     
Dear Li Mei,
     I got to the UK two days ago. On my first day I went to Buckingham Palace (白金漢宮). Yesterday
I walked around the British Museum. It's very big and my legs were tired, but I saw some great things! 
                                                                                                                                      Love,
                                                                                                                                     Xiao Jian 
                                                           
Dear Li Mei,
     I am in Australia. It's winter for you,but it's summer here. Every morning I go swimming in the warm
sea (海洋), then I go to Chinese restaurant. In the afternoon I walk round shops and buy presents (禮物). 
                                                                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                                                                       Luo Ying 
                                                        
Dear Li Mei,
     I am in San Francisco. My uncle met me at the airport. Yesterday we did a lot of sightseeing and took
a lot of photos. I bought some clothes. Next week we are going to Hollywood. I'm having a very good time.
                                                                                                                                       Best wishes,
                                                                                                                                       Peng Hui 
                                                        
Dear Li Mei,
     I am now on vacation in South Africa. It is very hot. I went to national park and saw lions and elephants.
This is a wonderful country.
                                                                                                                                              Yours,
                                                                                                                                              Li Lan

1. Xiao Jian saw some great things in ___________.
2. It's ___________ in Australia.
3. Peng Hui went sightseeing in San Francisco with his ___________.
4. Peng Hui is going to ___________ next week.
5. Li Lan saw ___________ in a national park.

     Basketball stars are usually tall. The stars of other sports are sometimes short. Some of the best football
players are not very tall.
     Short people often have better balance than tall people, so they do not fall over (摔倒) very often. In some
sports the players must have good balance, for example, table tennis and running.
     You do not need long legs to run fast! Some of the fastest runners in the world are not very tall. Some are
tall and some are short. There is no medicine to make people grow taller or to make people shorter.
     The tallest woman in the world is Sandy Allen. She is 2.317 meters tall and lives in the United States.
     The shortest person in the world is Gul Mohammed from India. He is only 57 centimeters (厘米) tall.
     Today young people in many countries grow taller than their parents. This is because they eat better food
today. Good food can help children grow.

1. How many different sports do we talk about in this passage (段落)? What are they?
   ____________________________________________________________.
2. Is there any medicine to make people grow taller or to make people shorter?
   ____________________________________________________________.
3. The tallest person in the world is ________ meters taller than the shortest one.
4. _______ _______ helps young people today grow taller than their parents.
5. 將短文中畫線的句子譯成漢語：
   ___________________________________________________________.

     Shopping in Singapore is really a pleasure for tourists. The Great Singapore Sale is held every year, usually
during the summer months. Singapore's famous shopping stores welcome a great number of visitors from all
over the world. Their shopping hours last till midnight. During this time, nice and cheap goods are on sale for
tourists to choose from. Tourists can also try delicious foods there and experience the Singaporean nightlife.
     Certain stores offer discounts (折扣) of up to 70 percent or even higher if people use their credit cards. For
tourists that hold a special Tourist Card, they can enjoy a lot of benefits (好處), such as discounts on watches,
jewellery and cosmetics (化妝品). The card also gives discounts when you visit local attractions such as the
Singapore Zoo.
     It is well worth checking out in the different shopping districts of Singapore during this 8-week Shopping
Marathon. Orchard Road is surely the best place for shopping in the city. A large number of restaurants, clubs
and cafes can be found in this area. Marina Bay includes both big department stores as well as small shops, so
everything you would want to buy can be found here.
     Advice for tourists planning to enjoy this festival of shopping: travel light and take a comfortable pair of
shoes with you, for you are sure to do a lot of walking and return with your bags much heavier.

1. You probably see the Great Singapore Sale when you go to Singapore in _____.

A. January
B. August
C. May
D. November

2. We can learn from the passage that _____.

A. the Great Singapore Sale is held twice each year
B. the Shopping Marathon lasts for more than two months
C. Orchard Road is Singapore's best shopping street
D. Marina Bay is a narrow street with small shops

3. Why are tourists advised to travel light if they want to enjoy the shopping festival?

A. They will buy many goods and have to do lots of walking.
B. It is not safe for them to take heavy bags with them.
C. There is heavy traffic in the shopping districts of Singapore.
D. Travelling with too many things is not allowed in Singapore.

4. The author wrote this passage mainly to _____.

A. tell readers his or her experience and impression of visiting Singapore
B. help readers find the best shopping centres in Singapore
C. explain what has made Singapore popular around the world
D. introduce shopping in Singapore and attract more readers to go shopping there

     We've talked about snails (蝸牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don't move at all.
They are in their shells-sleeping. 　　
     Hot sun will dry out a snail's body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell.
A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long
as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep. 　　
     In spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry,
the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (觸角), are very weak. But its sense of smell is
very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens. 　　
     A snail's mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大頭針). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very
small, and you can't see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.

1. A snail ________.

A. moves more slowly at night　
B. has thousands of feet　
C. doesn't move at all
D. sleeps much of the time

2. In the sentence "A snail draws its body into its shell", the word "draw" means ________.

A. to make with a pencil
B. to push　
C. to pull
D. to move away

3. From the story, we know ________.

A. a snail's shell is very thin
B. a snail can't see well
C. a snail's nose is quite short
D. a snail's body changes in different seasons

4. A snail goes to sleep when ________.

A. it feels hungry
B. it is put into a paper box　
C. spring is coming
D. it rains heavily

5. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. In spring the snail doesn't eat or move.　　
B. A snail has a big mouth.
C. The snail sleeps in its shell most of the time.　
D. The snail's feet help it find food.

     Do you get angry when your friends sing loudly while you are trying to work? Or when your best friend
does not wait for you after school?
     If you do, you need to take control (控制) of your feelings and stop getting angry so easily. Getting angry
with people can cause you to lose friends.
     Gary Egeberg, an American high school teacher, has written "My Feelings Are Just Like Wild Animals" to
help you control your feelings. It tells teens how to stay cool when bad things happen to them.
     The book says that getting angry only makes problems worse. It can never make them better. Getting
angry is not a natural (天然的) way to act, the book says. It is just a bad habit (習(xí)慣), like smoking (抽煙).
The book says you can control your anger (生氣) easily ---- all you have to do is tell yourself not to be angry.
     When a baby falls over, it only cries if people are watching it. Like a baby, you should only get angry if
you are sure it is the right thing to do. The book gives many tips (建議) to help you if you get angry easily.
Here are our top three:
     1. Keep a record. Every time you get angry write down why you are angry. Look at it later and you will
see you get angry too easily.
     2. Ask your friends to stop talking to you when you get angry. This will teach you not to be angry.
    3. Do something different. When you get angry, walk away from the problem and go somewhere else.
Try to laugh!

1. You may be get angry _______ in this passage.

A. when your best friends don't wait for you after school
B. when you hear your bad mark after taking the exam
C. if you don't control your feelings all the time
D. if you can't work out the problems in class

2. If you often become angry with people, _______.

A. you won't have trouble
B. you will die much earlier
C. you will lose some friends
D. you won't make friends later on

3. _______ tells teens to keep cool when bad things happen to them.

A. An English writer
B. An American teacher
C. A book
D. A magazine

4. Which is the best title (標(biāo)題) of the passage?

A. How to make more friends.
B. How to keep cool when angry.
C. What to write about anger.
D. When to stop getting angry.

5. Which of the following sentences is right?

A. Getting angry every time is as good a habit as getting up early every morning.
B. Please keep an angry record every time so that you will turn angry easily.
C. You'd better ask your friends to talk with you when you are in anger.
D. You are always telling yourself to stay cool to control your anger if you are getting angry.

     Playing is serious business for children. In fact, it's what they do best! Ask them why they do it, and kids
will probably say, "Because it's fun!" But it's much more than that. It's also good for them. 
     3 Studies show that from birth babies begin learning through play. They use their five senses to get know
their new world. Touching allows them to discover how different things feel. Brightly colored toys and clothing help develop a baby's sense of sight (視覺).
     When small children choose which toy to play with, they begin developing their abilities in making decisions.
     Children love toys that allow them to use their imagination. Sometimes an empty box is more fun than a
high-tech toy. That's because a box can become anything a child imagines it to be.
     Crayons, paints and Play-Doh (彩色塑泥) are also good because they allow children to crate. Traditional
building blocks teach important pre-math skills like problem-solving. 4. Playing doesn't become any less
important once children start school. Many valuable (有價值的) lessons about life are learned on the school
playground. Kids learn how to share, take turns and play by the rules.

1. What can children do best in their childhood? 
     ____________________________________________
2. What kind of toys do children love? 
     ____________________________________________
3. 將短文中畫線的句子3譯成漢語。
     ____________________________________________
4. 將短文中畫線的句子4譯成漢語。
     ____________________________________________
5. 請給短文擬一個適當(dāng)?shù)念}目。
     ____________________________________________

     Skin-diving (潛泳) is a new sport today. This sport take you into a wonderful new world. It is like a visit
to the moon! When you are under water, it is easy for you to climb big rocks, because you are on longer heavy.
     Here, under water, everything is blue and green. During the day, there is plenty of light. When fish swims
nearby, you can catch them with your hands.
     When you have tanks (罐) of air on your back, you can stay in deep water for a long time. But you must
be careful when you dive in deep water.
     To catch fish is one of the most interesting parts of this sport. Besides, there are more uses for Skin-diving. You can clean ships without taking them out of the water. You can get many things from the deep sea.
     Now you can see that Skin-diving is both useful and interesting.

1. Skin-diving can take you to _________.

A. an exciting world
B. a new world
C. a beautiful world
D. an interesting and new world

2. This sport _________.

A. is like to travel on the moon
B. is like to play in water
C. is like to visit a new country
D. is like to climb a big rock

3. You can stay in deep water for a long time because _________.

A. you can swim
B. you can take tanks of air with you
C. you can bring something to eat
D. you can skin diving

4. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Skin-diving is a new sport.
B. Skin-diving is like visiting the moon.
C. The only use of skin-diving is to have more fun.
D. Skin-diving is not only interesting but useful.

5. Skin-diving is a useful and interesting sport because _________.

A. you can catch fish with your hands
B. you can clean the ship in the water
C. you can get many things from the deep sea
D. all of the above