【推荐1】A game of catch is simply two people throwing a ball back and forth. It seems a little boring. The two people are close enough to talk, but too far to touch. They might have baseball gloves, or they might use their hands.

In fact, playing catch is part of baseball practice – to make you get used to using a ball and glove. But any American kid will tell you it’s much more than that.

Playing catch is a time to be with your father. It’s a time when there’s nothing to worry about besides catching a ball. It’s a time when words move as seamlessly as the ball itself, back and forth, easy and relaxing. It’s an excuse to spend time together.

Because baseball is an American sport, and a big part of being American, playing catch is kind of an all-American dad activity. In the suburbs, most people have backyards – not large enough to play baseball in, but just big enough for a game of catch. Those without yards play in the street.

When adults are asked to talk about the good memories of their dads, many of them will say something about playing catch. Why? Probably because dads are usually very busy. A catch game is a time that is only for one thing. This is a time when a kid has his or her dad’s attention. There is no work, no phone and no other people around to take your dad away from you. For the time that it takes to play a game of catch, your dad is all yours.

1. Which means the most to play catch?

A．To throw the ball back and forth.	B．To catch the ball.
C．To relax with your father.	D．To practice baseball.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about playing catch according to Paragraph 4?

A．Playing catch is an American activity.

B．Kids usually play catch with friends.

C．People need a big backyard to play catch.

D．People can hardly play catch without baseball gloves.

3. Which description mostly fits the underlined statement “For the time that it takes to play a game of catch, your dad is all yours” ?

A．Mothers are always too busy to play with you.

B．It’s just a time when you can have all your father’s attention.

C．All kids like playing with their dads instead of mothers.

D．Your father likes playing catch so that other people around won’t take him away from you.

4. What is the best title for the article?

A．American Baseball.	B．How to play catch.
C．Happy memories at home.	D．More than just a game.

【推荐2】If you love music, here is an easy game for you to play with your classmates. The game is called Name That Song.

Number of players: more than(超过) three

You will need a music player, about twenty different songs, some paper and pens.

How to prepare

One student is the judge(裁判). The others will be the players.

Prepare enough music for the game. Make sure you have pop, jazz and other kinds of music.

The judge should know the name of the artists and the name of the songs.

Rules(规则) of the game

The judge picks(选择) a song and plays it for about 10 to 15 seconds(秒).

Give players 30 seconds to say the artist and the name of the song.

If the first play fails(失败), the question will pass to the next player. If no one knows, the judge will reveal the answer.

1. Alice wants to play the game Name That Song. She doesn’t need ________.

A．paper

B．pens

C．erasers

D．a music player

2. The judge may play a song for ________ seconds.

A．four

B．seven

C．twelve

D．twenty

3. What does “reveal” mean in the last paragraph?

A．Know.

B．Tell.

C．Buy.

D．Eat.

4. According to the game, which of the following is NOT true?

A．You can play the game with your two friends.

B．There are many kinds of music in the game.

C．The judge always knows the name of the song.

D．The game isn’t difficult for the students and teachers.

5. We may read the passage from ________.

A．a history book

B．a notebook

C．a birthday card

D．a newspaper

【推荐1】On the 15th day of the first lunar month, Chinese people celebrate the first full moon of the year. This celebration is called Lantern Festival. This year, it falls on February 26.

Making and looking at lanterns are popular things to do during the festival. The lanterns come in many sizes and shapes, such as animals and plants. There are usually riddles on the lanterns.

Rabbit lanterns are fun for children. They have wheels so that kids can pull them along from place to place. Why rabbits? Some say rabbits are lucky animals. The rabbit lanterns can bring children good luck. Others say that in ancient Chinese stories, there is a jade rabbit living on the moon. The Lantern Festival is on the first full moon of the year, so rabbits are a big part of the festival as well.

1. According to the passage, when does Lantern Festival fall this year?

A．On the 15th day of January.

B．on March 26.

C．on February 26.

2. What do we often see on the lanterns?

A．animals

B．riddles

C．plants

3. What does the word “wheels” mean in Chinese?

A．座椅

B．方向盘

C．轮子

4. What do we know from the passage?

A．Children love rabbit lanterns.

B．Rabbits can bring children good luck.

C．There is a jade rabbit living on the moon.

【推荐2】

Mint is a useful plant. You can see it in different kinds of dishes. Mint can bring us many health advantages. It can also help us relax. Don’t you believe it? Just smell the plant when you feel tired.

Now, if you love mint, you don’t have to buy it at the market. The plant is very easy to grow. You can plant it all year round, and it can grow well both indoors and outdoors.

①Prepare your flower pot

Fill your flower pot with soil. Fill soil to a depth (深度) of about 25 centimeters. Use a garden fork to loosen the soil (松土).

②Plant your mint

Plant your mint seeds (种子) 40 centimeters far from each other.

If your pot is small, use just one plant or seed.

③Put your plant in a proper place

Mint loves sunlight, but it also likes a bit of shade. Put your plant in a place where it can get both sunlight and shade.

④Water your mint

Mint prefers wet soil. Keep the soil well watered, but don’t overdo it. Don’t forget to put a plant plate under your pot.

⑤Time to harvest

Mint grows fast. After your plant grows up, you can pick its leaves at any time.

To make things more fun, why not ask each of your classmates to grow some mint? Let’s see whose mint grows the fastest!

1. According to this passage, what should we use to loosen the soil?

A．A garden fork.

B．A plant plate.

C．Scissors.

D．Chopsticks.

2. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．You can only grow mint indoors.	B．Mint grows the fastest in summer.
C．Mint can be grown any time in a year.	D．You should water your mint once a month.

3. Which of the following picture shows the correct way of growing mint?

A．

B．

C．

D．

4. The writer write this article to teach people how to ________.

A．use mint for cooking

B．grow mint faster

C．use mint to relax

D．plant mint at home

【推荐2】Once there were many thousands of Gourma Desert （沙漠）elephants in Mali, a country in West Africa. Now, there are fewer than four hundred.

Why did the number of the elephants drop so quickly? On the one hand, the elephant’s main lake, their only water source, dried up. On the other hand, the land which the elephants lived on was overused by humans.

To protect the elephants’ living environment, the Mali Elephant Project（MEP） was started in 2007. MEP met with local people and helped them make rules of using land and water. As a result, the situation became better and there was more food, forest and grassland.

However, from 2012 to 2016, poaching（偷猎）and illegal trade in the elephants increased rapidly. Eighty-three elephants were lost in 2015 alone and another fifty-one elephants were killed in 2016. “If this situation goes on, all the Gourma elephants will be killed by 2020,” said a member of MEP.

Luckily, the voice of MEP was heard. More organizations have joined together to educate the local people that trading elephants is against the law. Elephant poaching has dropped to a very low level. The local people have learned to live peacefully with the elephants, one of the wildlife treasures in the world.

1. Why was MEP started?

A．To raise more elephants in Mali.	B．To stop the main lake from drying up.
C．To discover water source for elephants.	D．To protect the elephants’ living environment.

2. What does “this situation” in paragraph four refer to?

A．fifty-one elephants were killed in 2016	B．the increase of poaching and illegal trade
C．all the Gourma elephants were killed	D．eighty-three elephants were lost

3. Which of the following is TRUE?

A．There are 400 Gourma Desert elephants in Mali, West Africa.

B．Human activities also led to the decrease of the elephant population.

C．134 elephants were killed and traded illegally from 2012 to 2016.

D．MEP was the only organization to fight against illegal trade of elephants.

4. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．The number of organizations has dropped.	B．There is less elephant poaching now.
C．The local people keep the elephants at home.	D．The whole world live peacefully with elephants.

5. What is this passage mainly about?

A．The work of Mali Elephant Project.	B．The elephant poaching in West Africa.
C．The rules of using land and water in Mali.	D．The education of the local people in Mali.

【推荐3】Siberian tigers, also know as Amur tigers (东北虎), are now on China’s first-class protection list. Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Parks in Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces use a high-tech system to provide real-time protection for the plants and animals. The system has taken more than 4,000 pictures of Siberian tigers and Amur leopards. Now, there are more than sixty Siberian tigers in our country. And the survival rate (存活率) of young Siberian tigers has increased from 33percent in 2016 to 50 percent now.

Over the past ten years, China has made great achievements in wildlife protection. One of the most successful examples is the giant panda. The number of the giant pandas has grown from 1, 114 in the 1970s to 1, 864 now.

China will go one with its protection for wildlife. It will build more protection areas for the wildlife and improve their living places. Special research will also be done on endangered animals.

1. How does the National Park protect tigers?

A．By creating a high-tech system.	B．By providing real-time protection.
C．By inviting protectors to work in the park.	D．By building comfortable living places for tigers.

2. How many Siberian tigers are there in our country now?

A．more than 33.

B．more than 50.

C．more than 60.

D．more than 4,000.

3. What is the survival rate of young Siberian tigers now?

A．33%.

B．50%.

C．60%.

D．70%.

4. Why does the writer talk about the number of giant panda?

A．To tell readers they are out of danger.	B．To let readers care more about giant pandas.
C．To show China’s success in protecting wildlife.	D．To make people know it’s hard to protect wildlife.

5. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．China’s future protection plan.	B．What we can do to protect wildlife.
C．Different endangered wild animals.	D．How wildlife has become endangered.