【推荐1】A website called Vouchercloud has compiled a list of the world's smartest countries and regions, which is based on three factors - the number of Nobel Prize winners, the average IQ of the population and the school test of pupils.They think the three factors represent the intelligence(智力) of a nation's past, present and future generations.Vouchercloud has done the legwork for you and diligently researched and ranked the top 25 countries in the world by intelligence.

Here is the list of top 10.

1. Which country has the highest IQ?

A．China

B．South Korea

C．Russia

D．The UK

2. How many countries in Asia are in the top 10 list?

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

3. Among the three factors,Asia needs to improve__________most.

A．The number of Nobel Prize winners	B．The average IQ of the population
C．The school test of pupils	D．The number of the students

【推荐2】It's a cold, grey Sunday afternoon in March. The British are all working in their gardens. They're digging, cutting leaves and planting new seeds (种子)，By summer, their gardens will be full of bright colours.
The British love their gardens. A British newspaper recently asked people for their opinions about them. Around 70% of the people felt it was important to spend time in the garden, and over 50% of these described gardening as the most enjoyable thing .they ever did.
   Only one in ten houses in Britain do not have a garden. People who live in houses without gardens often rent (租用) land from the government.
At first, only very rich people had gardens. You can still see the gardens around houses with a long history, such as Chatsworth House or Castle Howard. In the early twentieth century, however, gardening became a hobby. People bought different kinds of seeds and plants for their gardens. Although roses, sunflowers and tomatoes are often grown in British gardens, they originally (起初) grew wild in other countries.
Every year, there are competitions for the largest vegetables, but don't expect to win: Britain's biggest carrot is almost six metres long.
1. In summer, British gardens are often ______

A．full of people digging there	B．colorful with different plants
C．too hot for people to work there	D．covered with grey leaves and plants

2. A recent survey showed that ______ of the British felt it important to do some gardening.

A．around 70%

B．over 50%

C．only 20%

D．about 10%

3. We can infer from Paragraph 4 that ________

A．seeds were provided for free

B．roses were first grown in Britain

C．gardening is a hobby in the world

D．the owner of Chatsworth House was rich

4. What does the writer mean by the underlined sentence?

A．It is easy to grow big vegetables.

B．It is hard to win the competition.

C．The carrot is much easier to grow.

D．The carrot is his favorite vegetable.

【推荐3】Do you have any friends from other countries? Do you know what they are like?

The Germans are very quiet and they don’t get excited easily. They don’t want to say more words. They look serious, but they like all kinds of amusements (娱乐). They work hard and like tidiness. Most German women like to keep their houses clean.                                      

In some ways, the English look the same as the Germans. They are also quiet and never talk too much with others. They are really polite, so we often hear “Thank you.” or “Sorry.” from them.

The French have long holidays. They like travelling and usually spend their long time in other countries. The French are more outgoing (外向的) than the Germans. It is very easy to make friends with them.

Compared to (与……比较) the French, the Americans are more outgoing. And they are even opener. They don’t like to depend on (依靠) others. So it is very popular that students do part-time jobs. In Americans’ eyes, working and success are important.

1. From the passage, we can learn that ________ are very quiet.

A．only the Germans	B．only the Englishmen
C．only the French	D．both the Germans and the English

2. What does the underlined word “tidiness” mean in Chinese?

A．整洁

B．安静

C．时尚

D．随意

3. What can we learn about the French from the passage?

A．They are more outgoing than the Americans.

B．It is very easy to make friends with them.

C．They like travelling in their own country.

D．They don’t like to be too excited and are always hard-working.

4. Which is the best title of the article?

A．Different people’s hobbies.

B．Who are more outgoing?

C．Characteristics (特征) of the people in different countries.

D．Working hard is an important part in people’s life.

【推荐2】Imagine one day, the water taps (水龙头) in your house stop running. You have to buy water from shops. And still there isn’t enough for everyone. Your mother has to save the family’s shower water to do other things. Would you be able to stand that kind of life?

Probably not. But that’s what kids in Yemen are experiencing. Experts said Yemen is going to be the first country in the world to run out of water. According to a report, the capital, Sana, will run out of drinking water as early as 2025.

Because of the shortage, the government often cuts the water supply (供应). Hannan, an 18-year-old girl from Lahej, told Times: “In a good week we’ll have a water supply all week. But then the following week there will be water only for a day or two.”

Hannan said only rich people have enough water to use. They can buy water from the shops or from the water trucks. Private companies own the trucks. They travel around the city every day to sell water—at very high prices. “A lot of people can’t afford it,” she said.

The average (平均) person in Yemen uses 100 to 200 cubic (立方) meters of water per year. That is far below the international water poverty (贫困) line of 1, 000 cubic meters.

The government is thinking of making use of sea water. But it will cost a lot and it may not happen soon enough to help the people of Yemen.

1. ________ is the name of the capital city of Yemen.

A．Sana

B．Lahej

C．Hannan

D．Times

2. A report shows that Sana will have ________ as early as 2025.

A．enough drinking water to use	B．no drinking water to use
C．no private companies	D．more water pollution

3. What does the underlined word “shortage” in the third paragraph mean in Chinese?

A．充足

B．短缺

C．干旱

D．需求

4. We can infer (推断) from the passage that ________.

A．the poor don’t have to worry about the water supply

B．the 18-year-old girl is from a poor family

C．private companies make a lot of money

D．Lahej is a beautiful place

【推荐3】How many meals do you have every day? In many English homes people eat four meals a day: breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

People have breakfast at any time from seven to nine in the morning. They eat porridge, eggs or bread. English people drink tea or coffee at breakfast.

Lunch comes at one o’clock. Afternoon tea is usually from four to five in the afternoon and dinner is at about half past seven in the evening. First they have soup, and then they have meat or fish with vegetables. After that they eat some other things, like bananas, apples or oranges.

But not all English people eat like that. Some of them have their dinner in the middle of the day. Their meals are breakfast, dinner, tea and supper and all these meals are very simple.

1. Many English people have ________ meals a day.

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

2. English people may have ________ for their breakfast.

A．meat and eggs

B．meat and bread

C．eggs or soup

D．tea or coffee

3. When do English people have afternoon tea?

A．At about one o’clock.	B．At about half past seven.
C．From 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.	D．From seven to nine.

4. From the passage, we know that ________.

A．some English people have milk, meat and fruit for dinner

B．all the English people have four simple meals every day

C．English people have their dinner in the middle of the day

D．many English people eat four meals every day

5. What’s the writer’s purpose (意图) of writing this text?

A．To ask us to learn from English people.	B．To tell us English people’s eating habits.
C．To show how to make English meals.	D．To show the difference between Chinese and English.