Kids are kids, no matter where they live. On fine spring days, you find them outside looking for games to _____. It’s the nature of being young.

Take the game of marbles(玻璃球) for _____. From villages in deepest Africa to towns along the China Sea, youngsters have been playing this traditional game for thousands of years. There are many reasons why the game of marbles has been so _____. It’s easy to play and doesn’t require any other things.

Perhaps most important of all, the rules are flexible(灵活的). That means that the _____ can be changed by the players. That’s _____ there are no written rules for marbles. You and your friends can get a game going and, as long as you all _____, those are the rules for the game in your neighbourhood.

However, the goal is _____ the same. Players put their marbles on the ground. They try to win their opponents’(对手) marbles by hitting the marbles or by knocking them out of a circle. ______the end of a game, one player goes home with a bag full of marbles. The others go home with bags that are far lighter than _____ they arrived.

Today, there is an International Marble Championship. But as any youngster ______, the best game of marbles is played in the schoolyard. The days are warm, the marbles roll easily, and friends gather around to see who will have the best luck that day.

Roald Dahl was one of the most successful writers of children’s books. He sold millions of books all over the world. Many of his books have been made into films and videos. He is so famous that there is even a Roald Dahl Museum you can visit.

Roald Dahl was born in 1916 in Wales, Britain. His father was rich but he died when Roald was very young. Roald and his mother lived a hard life. He had to leave school and went to Africa where he worked for an oil company.

In 1939, Roald became a pilot, but he had a bad accident. It made him limp(瘸的) for the rest of his life. After this, Roald went to America where he wrote a story about his experience as a pilot. It was so good that it was put in a magazine.

Roald married an American film star. They bought a house in England and had five children. From 1960 to 1965,　　　　: Theo, one of his children, was hit by a taxi and was seriously hurt. Oliva, one of Roald’s daughters, died of a strange illness. Soon after this, his wife also had a serious illness. It took her years to get completely better. 

Gradually Roald became more and more successful. He always did his writing in an old shed(棚) at the back of his house. He always sat in the same old armchair with a wooden board on his lap.

“One of the nice things about being a writer,” he once said, “is that all you need is what you’ve got in your head and a pencil and a bit of paper.”

In 1983 Roald won a big prize for his book The BFG. During his life, Roald wrote many famous books, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Fantastic Mr. Fox.

After he died in 1990, Roald left money to help people with serious illnesses and those with problems with reading and writing.

The world uses about a thousand million (百万) tons of water a day. Water is a human right and everyone should have their share. Yet more than 700 million people around the world have trouble getting clean, safe water.

Treating wastewater is a good way to provide fresh water for us. And it also helps the environment by keeping waste out of rivers and oceans. 80% of wastewater around the world is not treated at all, and it is running into oceans. But now we have got the technology to treat and reuse the wastewater.

While 75% of our planet is covered with water, only about 2% is fresh water—that comes from rivers, lakes, ice and snow. The rest, 98% of the water, is in seas and oceans. It is too salty to drink. Then desalination businesses come in. More than 19,000 factories have been built around the world, mostly in coastal countries. They process (加工) more than 92 million tons of water every day. But the technology they use requires a lot of energy.

Scientists are working to create a less costly technology. They want to produce 20 times more clean water and make sure everyone has enough. But for now, the world still faces each day with not having enough water for everyone.

Table manners are about how to behave when you eat a meal. Different countries have different table manners. Now let’s see some table manners in the following countries.

Japan

It is OK to make some noises when you eat noodles in Japan. Making some noises is not rude but is praise to the cook. The Japanese also say it tastes better if you make some noises while eating.

What else to watch: it’s important to say “Thanks” before and after a meal.

France

In France, a meal is like a ceremony. People enjoy it and make it a special event. You should never discuss money over dinner. And going Dutch (各自付费) is not polite.

What else to watch: you need to finish everything on your plate.

Mexico

In Mexico, whenever you catch the eye of someone who’s eating, even a stranger, it’s good manners to say “provecho”, which means “enjoy”.

What else to watch: where you sit is important in this country. Before you get seated, look for place cards, or wait until the host seats you. And you must say “Enjoy your meal” before you leave the table.

Reading is the key to school success, and it takes practice. An excellent sportsman practises until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators(教育家) call it “automaticity(自动性)”. And the automaticity in reading is necessary and important.

A child learns to read by learning the letters and the meanings of the words. With more and more practice, he sturnbles less and less. With automaticity, he doesn’t have to think about the meanings of the words, so that he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.

It can begin as early as the first grade. In a recent study, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.

According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount of time that a child spends in reading, not his IQ. It is possible that any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books will reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night and reads at home.

You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable for your level. If you read aloud with expressions, with a sense of the meanings of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expressions or meanings, you need more practice.

Nick and his friends were talking about things that can bring them luck. “I have a lucky red pen,” said Andy. “I have a lucky coin,” said Peter. “Every time I take a test, I carry my lucky coin.” Nick thought for a moment, and said, “My blue socks.” “Blue socks?” the boys were surprised and asked together. Nick said that every time he wore his blue socks to school before a test, he got a good mark.

The next day Nick had a Chinese test. He was sad because he couldn’t find his blue socks. “Mom!” shouted Nick. “Where are my blue socks? I have a Chinese test today, and I need to wear them.”

“Don’t be silly,” Nick’s mom said. “They need to be washed.” “When I wear them, I get a good grade. ” Nick said.

“Did you prepare for your test?” asked Mom.

“Yes.”

“Then don’t worry aboutit. Just do your best.” Mom encouraged.

A few days later, Nick’s teacher told him that he got 95 in his test. Nick was so excited that he couldn’t wait to tell Mom he did well in his test. Mom said, “It wasn’t the blue socks that made you success. In fact, it was made by yourself.”

continue            make            place        careful            who          same            stop            before        good something

A man named Bill once visited a temple that was still being built． He saw a sculptor （雕刻家）    51     a sculpture． As he watched the man work on the sculpture， he noticed that there was a similar sculpture lying nearby．

He felt strange and asked the sculptor， "Why are you creating two    52     sculptures？ Do you need two to put in different     53    ？"

"No．" the man said without looking up， "We need only one， but the first one became damaged（损害）    54     I could finish it， so I' m working on a new one．"

Bill picked up the damaged sculpture and examined it     55    ． But he couldn't find     56     wrong with it．

"Where is the damage？" he asked．

"There is a scratch （划痕） on the sculpture's nose " the sculptor said while     57     his work．

Bill then asked "Where are you going to place the sculpture？"

The sculptor replied that it would be placed on a platform which is 20 feet in height．" If the sculpture is up that high，    58     is going to notice that there is a scratch on the nose？ " Bill asked．

The sculptor     59     his work， looking up at the man and said，" I will know it．"

The sculptor chose a high standard of excellence in his work． Even if other people didn't   notice it， it mattered to him that his work should be of the     60     quality （质量）． This is an attitude we should work hard to have．

66. 假定你是李华，当前新型冠状病毒肆虐，你受学生会委托，围绕“从小事做起，共战疫情”这一主题，为校宣传栏“英语天地”写一封倡议书。