My little brother is six years old, in first grade. Yesterday, he gave mum a letter from his teacher. "I got a
red flag today. Could you please sign this note?" he said. The note showed that he had been talking during
reading time. He gets a "red flag" only once in a while. His real worry is that he never gets top scores in his
schoolwork. The best he gets is "OK", but often his score is "You can do better than this." My mum tells me
"You can do better than this" would mean "Very bad" in China.
      It's interesting, though, because teachers for little kids in America never say anything too bad about their
students; even if the students are making trouble in class or not working hard enough. The worst they might
say is "Please be nicer tomorrow." Many parents are pleased with a B-grade for each subject.
      I've heard that things are different in Chinese schools. Expectations (期望) are very high for students.
Even from first grade, homework was quite a lot for my relatives in Nanjing. I sometimes felt that my
first-grade Chinese cousin spent more time on homework than I did when I was a 6th grader in the US ( this
is the same as the 6th grade in China )! Yet his parents and school thought he was a bad student. But to me,
he was smart, even though he didn't meet his parents' expectations. My parents tell me that some students are
years earlier in math and science!
     Do you think it's too strict in China? Or do you think that it's not strict enough in America? Maybe both
are true!

1. The writer's little brother got a red flag yesterday because he ________.

A. did something good
B. worked hard enough
C. got top scores
D. made trouble in class

2. When students get "OK", it means they get ________ scores in their schoolwork.

A. top
B. medium
C. the lower
D. the best

3. Many parents in America don't get ________ when their kids get a B-grade in their school.

A. happy
B. glad
C. angry
D. pleased

4. From the passage we can clearly see the writer thinks ________.

A. American teachers are better than Chinese teachers
B. expectations in China are too high for students
C. teachers should be strict with their students
D. Chinese teachers are not kind enough to students

5. The story mainly tells us ________.

A. about the different expectations for students between China and America
B. Chinese kids spend less time on schoolwork than American kids do
C. it's as strict in American schools as that in Chinese schools
D. Chinese teachers should treat students like American teachers

     April Fools' Day is supposed to be a day to play jokes on others in hopes of getting a good laugh and
making one feel like a fool. However, the April Fools' Day of 2010 was quite different for my mom and me.
     That day my friend Jimmy and I were playing a game. I had dropped down from a bar (橫木) many
times in the past without ever having a problem, but that day the simple act of dropping to the ground became
a nightmare (噩夢). I broke my arm.
     Jimmy's dad heard my crying and rushed out to see what was going on. When he saw the problem, he
quickly put me into his truck and went inside to telephone my mom and let her know he would take me to
the hospital. As that day was April Fools' Day, Mom was not buying it and really thought all this was a big
joke. Mom was finally convinced by Jimmy's mom. When she saw me, she broke down in tears because
she felt so bad-she originally (開始) thought this was just a big prank (惡作劇).
     I guess one could compare this to the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". Since I had pulled pranks
before, it is no wonder that my mom didn't believe it. I as well as my mom was made to look like a fool
that day. We both learned a valuable lesson.

1. What happened to the writer on the April Fools' Day of 2010?

A. He dreamed a terrible dream.
B. He was hurt by Jimmy.
C. He had an accident.
D. He fooled his mom with his friend.

2. Why did Jimmy's dad phone the writer's mom?

A. Because he wanted to play a joke on her.
B. Because he wanted her to go to the hospital to pay the money.
C. Because he wanted to see how deeply she loved her son.
D. Because he wanted to inform her of the accident.

3. What does the underlined sentence "Mom was not buying it" mean?

A. She didn't believe what Jimmy's dad said.
B. She would not like to pay the money.
C. She had no preparation for the bad news.
D. She thought her son deserved (應(yīng)受) it.

4. Why did the writer mention the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"?

A. Because he thought it was his mom's fault.
B. Because he had a lesson like that.
C. Because he was proud of his story.
D. Because he felt he was luckier than that boy.

5. From the passage we can infer that __________.

A. the writer's mom didn't care much about him
B. the writer was a dishonest person
C. the writer won't pull pranks as before
D. the writer will lose interest in games

     Pets are a part of people's lives. Some pets are like family. In these days, many people have pets at home
and spend a lot of money improving their lives. In fact, in some parts of the world, pets get real VIP treatment (待遇). VIP usually means Very Important People, but here VIP means Very Important Pets!
     When you want to give Fido or Kitty a holiday, or when you're going away on business, you can choose
from many dog and cat hotels. Some have many different good services (服務(wù)). Dogs can exercise inside or
outside, and cats have a large place with something to climb on and play with. The guests get the best food
during their stays at these hotels.
     There are other special services at these hotels. Imagine you are travelling and you want to see your pet:
The hotel can put a video camera in the pet's room. So you can see your Fido or Kitty on TV.
     The hotels usually have good groomers (美容師): They offer baths and the best hair care for the pets. But
you need to make an appointment (預(yù)約) because these people are usually very busy taking care of pets.

1. 判斷正誤(T or F)。

(     ) "Fido" stands for(代表) a kind of pet in this passage.

2.  完成句子。

    The new meaning of "VIP" in this passage is ___________.

   簡略回答問題

3. According to this passage, where can you put your pet when you are away on business?
    _________________________________________________________________

4. How can you see your pet during your travelling?
    _________________________________________________________________

5. 將文中劃線句子譯成漢語。
    _________________________________________________________________

     I have never taken cooking classes. I learned cooking from my mother because she was really interested
in teaching me how to cook. The main reason for this was that when my mother got married, she didn't know
how to cook anything, not even an egg. My grandmother never allowed her to stay in the kitchen when she
was cooking.
     My mother did not start to cook until she was 25 years old. In the beginning, it was very hard for her.
Therefore, she had to take cooking classes to prepare our meals. After having that experience, she decided
to teach me how to cook because she didn't want me to have the same experience.
      I remember when I was seven years old, and my mother was cooking, I was with her in the kitchen
enjoying cooking. I always helped her. Sometimes we prepared meals that my mother already knew how to
make, and sometimes we prepared them from recipes. Nowadays, I am really thankful for that experience
of people, it doesn't matter.
      I will do the same with my children because I don't want them to have the same experience as my mother.
If one day I am not with them, I want to be sure that they can carry on their lives without me.

1. The writer's mother learned cooking _______.

A. from the writer's grandmother
B. all by herself
C. by taking cooking classes
D. from cooking books

2. The writer's mother taught the writer how to cook because _______.

A. she wanted the writer to be more independent (獨立)
B. the writer was interested in cooking
C. she thought it a must for a woman to learn
D. she needed more help when she was cooking

3. The underlined word "recipes" in this passage most probably means _______.

A. instructions on how to prepare food
B. experiences of cooking food
C. some well-known cooks
D. she needed more help when she was cooking

4. We can learn from the passage that the writer's children will _______.

A. hate cooking
B. learn cooking
C. teach cooking
D. forget cooking

5. The writer must think cooking is _______ to learn in life.

A. interesting
B. difficult
C. enjoyable
D. important

     Are you eager (渴望) to go back to school? Do you hope to do a lot of homework every evening? Are
you interested in your classes? Who do you want to teach your subjects? Why do you like them? Maybe
you have lots of questions before school starts.
     Well, I want to give you some advice on these questions. 
      First, keep calm. Don't worry about all the questions. Put your hearts into learning. You can find
something you are interested in. Do it actively.
     Second, try to finish your homework quickly. Don't spend a lot of time on it. Do more reading and
writing in English. Think about the questions and work them out at once. Don't stay up late, or you can't
study well the next day. 
    Third, invent something instead of copying. If you can remember the words in your own way, you can
tell your teachers you don't like the way of copying them again and again. Be sure, you must pass the test.
I think your teachers will agree with you. And they can give you some interesting work to do.

1. Who is the writer?

A. A graduate.
B. A teacher.
C. A reporter

2. Why does the writer write this idea?

3. How many ways are there in this passage?

A. 4
B. 3
C. 5

4. What does this passage tell students to do about their homework?

A. They should spend a lot of time on it.
B. They should stay up late doing their homework.
C. They should do more reading and writing in English.

A. How to make friends?
B. How to finish your homework quickly?
C. What kind of homework is better for students?

                                                        Bungee Jumping (蹦極)
     More and more people around the world are taking part in some dangerous activities. Of course, many
people have climbed the highest mountains or explored unknown parts of the world. Now, however, there
are people who want to get quick pleasure from a dangerous activity, which may only last a few minutes or
even seconds.
     I think bungee jumping is a good example of such an activity. You jump from a high place 200 meters
above the ground with an elastic rope (彈力繩) tying to your ankles (腳踝). You fall at up to 150 kilometers
an hour until the rope stops you from hitting the ground. It is said that 2,000,000 people around the world
have now tried bungee jumping. Other activities, such as jumping from the tall buildings and diving into the
sea from the top of high rocks are as dangerous as bungee jumping.
     Why do people take part in such activities? Some scientists think it is because life in modern society has
become safe and boring. Now life has little excitement.

 根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容判斷正誤（正確的填“T”，錯誤的填“F”）：

(     )1. More and more people are taking part in dangerous activities because life 
        in modern society is very exciting. 

2. 將短文中劃線的句子譯成漢語： 
    ____________________________________________________________________
根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，回答下列問題：
3. How many people around the world have tried bungee jumping? 
    ____________________________________________________________________
4. What activities are as dangerous as bungee jumping? 
    ____________________________________________________________________
根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，完成下列句子：
5. Though bungee jumping only lasts a few minutes, people can get _________ from it.