【推荐1】Fraser Island is in Queensland, Australia. It is about 120 kilometers long and 24 kilometers wide. It is the largest sand island in the world. There is no airport on the island, but there is a long beach along the east coast（海岸）. Planes arrive and leave from there.

The sand makes unusual shapes. There are hills made of sand called sand dunes（沙丘）. Nothing grows on them. They move one or two meters a year from the northwest towards the southeast of the island. There are some beautiful places on the island, such as Rainbow Gorge and Red Canyon.

Fraser Island is the home of several plants and animals. There are beautiful flowers and different kinds of trees. There are also many birds like cockatoos. About 500, 000 people visit the island every year to see the island’s beauty. People enjoy camping and hiking there. Unluckily, the visitors damage（损坏）plants and frighten animals. They make water dirty, which makes them unable to grow well. So it is necessary to manage the visitors. For example, people can’t use motor boats or go fishing in the lakes unless they have official（官方的）papers.

【推荐3】You might think that drinking fruit juice is healthy. But that’s not quite true. A study (研究) shows that drinking too much juice—even 100% fruit juice—will do great harm to your health and can even make you die early.

This is because these drinks have a lot of sugar. Scientists said drinking too much fruit juice is just like drinking too much soda (汽水) —they both have a lot of sugar. Eating too much sweet food can cause many health problems, such as getting fat and heart disease. Fruit juice has vitamins (维生素), but there are very few vitamins in it.

In the study, both soda and 100% fruit juice are “sweet drinks”. Scientists found that if people get 10% or more of their energy from sweet drinks every day, they may die from heart disease or other diseases. Jean Welsh, one of the scientists in the study, told CNN, “People should drink less sweet drinks, whether soda or fruit juice.”

Does this mean that eating fruit is also unhealthy? Fruit is still fine. When you eat 100g of fruit, you’re getting less sugar than if you drink 100g of juice, because the fruit has lots of fiber (纤维). This fiber is also good for our health. It’s better to eat the whole fruit instead of fruit juice.

【推荐1】Did you walk along the Silk Road? Do you know the famous Silk Road? The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and the West.

People used to do business with people from different countries along these routes. Scientists and archaeologists believe people began to travel along the Silk Road many centuries ago. By the time the Chinese silk trade became important in the world, the Silk Road had covered almost 6,500 kilometers. It started from China and finally got to Rome.

Merchants traveled along the Silk Road. Of course, they carried and traded in tea, cloth, gold, jewels and other things. During its busiest time, the Silk Road attracted people from many different countries, such as China, Iraq, Turkey and Greece. All those people traveled along the Silk Road to share goods, stories, ideas, languages and cultures.

In modern times, the old Silk Road is still useful, but now people use trains instead of camels and horses to travel. They have realized the Silk Road is becoming more and more important among countries. So they, especially Chinese people, are trying to make better use of it. There is even a Silk Route Museum in Jiuquan, Gansu Province. It has over 35,000 objects about the Silk Road. In this way, China can protect the history of many countries.

【推荐3】How many pencils do you have around your house? If you are like most people, you have a lot. You can use pencils for so many things. You can write a note or draw pictures. Pencils come in many colors and sizes. They have been around for hundreds of years. They look very simple, but have you ever stopped to think about how pencils are made? You can visit Rabbit Pencil Factory and find out.

To make a pencil, you first need a thin piece of wood. Machines at the factory cut grooves (槽) into the wood. Then another machine puts pieces of graphite (石墨) into the grooves. When the graphite is in place, another piece of wood with grooves is glued (粘合) on top of the first piece of wood. This creates pencils. After the glue (胶水) dries, the pieces of wood are put into another machine that cuts the pencils into the right size and shape.

Next, the pencil is painted. Usually a pencil gets seven to nine coats of paint. Then the pencil is decorated (装饰). Some pencils are stamped (盖上印章). Others have designs (设计) printed on them. The last step is to add a top to the pencil. Some get an eraser top. Others get a cute toy top.

When you visit Rabbit Pencil Factory, you can make your own pencil. Then you can take it home and use it.

根据短文内容选择最佳答案。

a.Cut the pencils into the right size and shape.

b.Put pieces of graphite into the grooves.

c.Cut grooves into the wood.

d.Glue another piece of wood on top of the first piece

e.Need a thin piece of wood

Billions of locusts (蝗虫) are moving through farms and fields in the East African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Locusts are grasshoppers. Normally grasshoppers don't travel in groups and so they do little harm. But when there are lots of them, their bodies and behavior change. That's when they become locusts. Locusts travel in huge groups, laying eggs along the way, which produce even more locusts. In a single day, a small swarm (群) of the insects can eat as much food as 35,000 people do.

The locust swarms in Ethiopia and Somalia are the worst in 25 years. These locusts are desert locusts. They began swarming about six months ago. By moving with the winds, desert locusts can travel up to 90 miles a day or more.

Locust swarms are more common when heavy rains follow a long dry period. The insects lay their eggs in the wet ground. This season, East Africa has had its heaviest rainy season in 40 years.

When the insects swarm, one square kilometer of land can hold as many as 150 million locusts. There are 700 square kilometers of land covered by the insects in Kenya alone.

The insects are a threat to lives in the region, where food is already in short supply. Already many farmers who keep animals are struggling because locusts have eaten out the plants the animals usually live on.

In East Africa, farmers have been shooting into the air or making noises in the fields, but that doesn't work against so many insects. Experts say that spraying pesticides (杀虫剂) over large areas from airplanes is the only way to reduce the number of insects. The UN has released (释放) $10million to help deal with the locust problem. The UN says about $70 million is needed to truly control the locusts with pesticides.

【推荐2】I’m a girl, Rosie. Racing on the 1,500-meter track (跑道), I’m so tired. I want to stop but a voice is repeating in my head, “No one knows what the result will be. Everything is still possible.” Today, I have to fight with myself.

Nine years ago, when I was a 6-year-old girl, my mother took me on a trip. We went to the foot of a high mountain which she told me that we would climb. I had never done this before and the thought of it made me very happy.

At the beginning, I was so excited, and climbed fast. But half an hour later, when I was thirsty and tired, I just stopped and sat on the ground, completely silent. My mom came and sat next to me.

She said, “Get up and go on!”

Crying, I almost shouted, “Never! It’s too tiring and I am thirsty. I want to go back home now.”

Patiently she explained, “Listen, my dear. If you try your best, anything is possible. If you don’t try, your dream will never come true. You will never know how beautiful the sights look unless you reach the top of the mountain.”

Hearing her words, I stopped crying and started to climb again. Finally I did reach the top of the mountain and enjoyed the fantastic view.

Today I’m on the racing track. I’m going to keep running because I know it’s always valuable. And in the end I made it — I got through the finish line.

Although it was really difficult and I did not win, I did finish it. “Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined (命定的) place.”

【推荐3】When I saw Ronny for the first time, he looked like other kids in the first-grade classroom where I volunteered as a Reading Mom. However, he usually arrived at school wearing old clothes.

On the day when it was Ronny's turn to read, he sat very close to me. I watched his fingers move slowly under each letter as he tried to speak out "Bud the Sub". It sounded more like "Baw Daw Saw" when he said it because of his difficulty with the alphabet（字母）.

The year passed quickly and Ronny had made some progress but he was still below the level of grade. A few weeks before the school year ended, I held an award ceremony. I had gifts and certificates（证书）for everyone. It took me a while to think about which Ronny fit; I believed the gift could cheer him up. I finally decided on "The Most Progressive Reader". I showed his certificate and a book.

A few days later, I saw Ronny reading the book when I went back to the school. His teacher said, "He hasn't put that book down. That's the first book he's ever owned."

Fighting back tears（眼泪）I came near Ronny and asked. "Will you read me your book, Ronny?" He nodded.

And then, for the next few minutes, he read to me more smoothly than I'd ever thought. When he finished reading, Ronny closed his book and said, "Good book."

At that moment, I knew I should do what an author（作家）had done—care children and make them excellent.