【推荐1】The following is a QUIZ（自测） from a magazine.

Questions	1 Point	2 Points	3 Points
Where do you live?	in a village	in a town	in a city
How do you go to work/school?	by walking/ bicycle	by train/bus /subway	by driving a small car
How many times a year do you fly on airplanes?	1	2	3
How many hours of electricity do you use each day (e.g. watching TV, keeping lights on)?	0﹣6 hours	6﹣12 hours	12﹣18 hours
How often do you recycle?	almost always	often	sometimes

Total Points	Result
7	Less pollution than the average（平均） person
8﹣10	As much pollution as the average person
11﹣13	A little more pollution than the average person
14﹣14	A lot more pollution than the average person

1. Which of the following makes the least pollution?

A．Living pretty well in a big city.	B．Flying on planes only twice a year.
C．Almost always recycling used things.	D．Using 15hours of electricity each day.

2. How many points does the average person get?

A．7 points.

B．8﹣10 points.

C．11﹣13 points.

D．14﹣15 points.

3. Tom lives in a city, goes to work by subway, flies on airplanes once a year, uses 15hours of electricity a day, and sometimes recycles used things. How many points does he get?

A．11 points.

B．12 points.

C．13 points.

D．14 points.

【推荐2】Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest. But a new study shows it may become grassland in a few years. Climate change and human activities make it “sick”. Usually, the rainforest can fix itself, but now it feels too “tired” to get better.

Why is the Amazon rainforest “sick”?

The Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s wettest places. Since 2005, three droughts have hit the rainforest. They were caused by climate change. The trees don’t have enough water to grow. What’s worse, as they become dry, they can easily catch fire!

On top of this, people cut down rainforest trees for wood. They burn the forest to make farmland. They clear trees to find minerals. All these activities have caused about 17% of the rain forest to disappear.

What will happen if we lose it?

The Amazon rainforest is like the lungs of our planet. The rich planet take CO₂ out of the air and make O₂. They make about 20% of the planet’s O₂. If the Amazon forest “dies”, there will be more CO₂ and our earth will become even hotter.

The Amazon rainforest is also home to over 3 million animals and plants. Many of them can’t live anywhere else. Perhaps they would disappear.

1. What does the new study show?

A．The Amazon rainforest was once grassland.

B．Rainforests can speed up climate change.

C．The Amazon rainforest may become grassland in the future.

D．Many people enjoy activities in the Amazon forest.

2. How do droughts make the Amazon rainforest “sick”?
①They make plants grow more slowly.
②They cause climate change.
③They make grass in the forest grow faster.
④They make it easier for the forest to catch fire.

A．①②

B．②③

C．③④

D．①④

3. Why is the Amazon rainforest called “the lungs of the earth”?

A．Because it makes about one-fifth of the earth’s O₂.

B．Because it has 17% of the earth’s minerals.

C．Because the air there is the freshest and cleanest.

D．Because it’s the coolest place on the earth.

【推荐3】Paper was invented by a Chinese man called Cai Lun almost 2,000 years ago. It didn’t spread to Europe until the year 1100. And four hundred years later, a German discovered that he could make the best paper from trees. After those counties rich in forests, such as Canada, Sweden, America, and Finland become the most important ones in paper making.

The common uses for paper include newspapers, magazines and books. But do you know that paper can be used for keeping warm? For example, in Finland, the farmers wear paper shoes to keep their feet warm in the snow. And even houses can be insulated (使绝缘) from heat or cold with paper.

However, we have to understand that paper still comes from trees now. If we keep on wasting so much paper, there will not be any trees left on the earth some day in the near future. Every day people throw away about 280 tons of paper in the world, which means that we are cutting down nearly 48,000 trees every day. The fact is that it takes more than 10 years for a tree to grow.

As for this problem, we can do many things in daily life. We can use both sides of every piece of paper. We can make useful things out of used paper. We can use clay or glass cups instead of paper ones. When shopping, we can use fewer paper bags and reuse them if we have some.

In a word, we should keep a balance(平衡) between using paper and protecting trees, and do it now before it’s too late.

1. When did making paper from trees spread widely around the world?

A．2,000 years ago.

B．In 1100.

C．After 1500.

2. What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?

A．Paper is very popular in Finland.

B．Paper can be used in many ways.

C．Paper is widely used by farmers in Finland.

3. How many trees do we need to make one ton of paper?

A．About 48,000.

B．About 171.

C．About 280.

4. What does the writer suggest doing in the fourth paragraph?

A．Saving as much paper as possible.

B．Buying fewer things made of paper.

C．Using other materials to make paper.

5. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．German made the best paper in 1100.

B．We should plant more trees for making paper.

C．The writer is worried about paper waste.

【推荐1】

When it’s hot outside and we have to go out, surely we want to keep cool. We can put on hats, wear light clothing, or stay at a cool place. However, nothing can beat a good fan. Now I’ll show you how to make a good DIY (Do It Yourself) paper fan. What to prepare Please prepare two pieces of paper. All paper will work, but your DIY fan can be used for a long time with quality paper. Then get glue, two sticks, etc. How to make a DIY fan The first step is to draw pictures on the paper. Just draw anything you like. The next step is to fold up (折叠) the paper. Then glue the two pieces of folded paper together. After that, paint the sticks. The final step is to glue the sticks onto the folded paper. And everything is done. If you look at your watch, you will be surprised: it takes less than 15 minutes to make a good paper fan. Then you can fold it up and drop it in your bag. When you are out in the heat next time, just take it out and enjoy the gentle wind.

1. Which is the best way to keep cool according to Paragraph 1?

A．Putting on hats.	B．Using a good fan.
C．Wearing light clothes.	D．Staying at a cool place.

2. Why is quality paper a good choice to make a fan?

A．It lasts long.

B．It is colorful.

C．It is light.

D．It looks beautiful.

3. What is the second step of making a paper fan?

A．Painting the sticks.	B．Drawing pictures on the paper.
C．Folding up a piece of paper.	D．Gluing the sticks onto the folded paper.

【推荐2】Have you ever heard the sound of a hummingbird? They make a buzzing noise when they fly. They make this noise because they beat their wings so fast. They beat their wings up to 80 times a second. All that flapping makes a lot of noise. That’s why we call them hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds fly in a unique way. They move their wings so fast that they can hover. This means that they can stay in one spot in the middle of the air, like a helicopter. Sometimes they fly upside down. They are the only bird that flies backward.

Hummingbirds are small. One type called the bee hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world. Bee hummingbirds weigh less than a penny. They are just a little bit bigger than bees. I guess that’s why they get their name.

Hummingbirds move fast. It takes lots of energy to move as fast as they do. This means that they need to eat a lot of food. Their favorite food is nectar, a sweet liquid inside of some flowers. They drink more than their own weight of nectar daily. They have to visit hundreds of flowers to get enough nectar to live. They can only store enough energy to survive through the night. They live on the edge.

Hummingbirds help flowers too. They get pollen(花粉) on their heads and bills(鸟嘴) when they feed. Flowers use pollen to make seeds. Hummingbirds help pollen get from one flower to the next. This helps flowers make more seeds. More seeds mean more flowers. More flowers mean more food for hummingbirds. Isn’t it nice how that works out?

1. Why are they called hummingbirds?

A．They are very light.	B．They sing when they fly.
C．Their wings make a humming sound.	D．Their songs sound like humming.

2. Which best defines the word “hover” as used in Paragraph 2?

A．To stay in one spot in the air.	B．To clean an area completely.
C．An animal that looks like a helicopter.	D．To move the wings very fast.

3. Which best describes the main idea of Paragraph 4?

A．Something move fast.

B．Hummingbirds like eating nectar.

C．Hummingbirds use lots of energy and eat often.

D．Hummingbirds drink as much as their own weight in nectar every day.

4. How do hummingbirds help flowers?

A．They drink nectar from one flower to the next.

B．They eat pollen from every flower.

C．They bring pollen from one flower to the next.

D．They plant seeds from one place to the next.

5. Which of the following is the best title of this passage?

A．Some interesting facts about small birds.

B．Pollination: how birds and flowers work together.

C．Bee hummingbirds: the world’s smallest birds.

D．Hummingbirds: unique and uniquely helpful.

【推荐3】If you go to England, you may want to visit Big Ben. Big Ben is not the name of a man but a name of the clock in London. It has a long history of about 150 years. It is at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. The big clock has four faces (面). So you can read the face of the clock everywhere. The hands of it are about four meters (米) long each. When the new year comes, it chimes (报时) to welcome the start of the new year. There are also many fireworks (焰火) over the clock tower.
The big clock makes a very loud sound “Ding dong. Ding dong”--the clock gives the sound every 15 minutes of an hour.
1. What is Big Ben?

A．A man.

B．A house.

C．A clock.

D．A river.

2. How long is a hand of Big Ben?

A．2 meters.	B．4 meters.
C．15 meters.	D．16 meters.

3. Which of the following is TRUE about Big Ben?

A．It’s in the UK.

B．It gives the sound every 30 minutes.

C．It has three faces.

D．It is about 200 years old.

4. When the new year comes, what can you see over the clock tower?

A．Many birds.	B．Many clock hands.
C．Many clocks.	D．Many fireworks.

5. What’s the best title (标题) of the passage?

A．The clock tower	B．Clock hands
C．The Palace of Westminster	D．Big Ben