【推荐1】Whether it is for a special festival, to express thanks or to just let someone know that you care about them, giving gifts is a common way. The purpose of giving gifts may be similar, but the tradition is different from country to country. A gift of respect in one place may be considered rude in another. Take a look at three gift-giving traditions.

India

If you’re invited to someone’s home in India, you should bring a small gift, whether it’s a box of chocolates or some flowers. Gifts shouldn’t be wrapped in black or white colors, because they are considered unlucky. Instead, use bright colors such as green, red or yellow. When giving money for any situation, it should have an odd number (奇数) value. That’s believed to bring good luck. Instead of receiving a gift with both hands, Indians generally only use their right hand because left hands are considered unclean.

Japan

For most Japanese, the manners of giving presents are more important than the gifts themselves. The correct way is to present or receive gifts with both hands. Every gift should be wrapped. That’s because un-covered gifts are considered impolite. To show politeness and thanks, those who are receiving the gift may turn it down once or twice before finally accepting it. Gifts should be given in pairs, but four should be avoided just like in China. Lucky numbers also include eight. Eight is said to bring prosperity (兴旺).

Native America

While it may be common for guests to prepare gifts for hosts, this is different in Native American communities. From weddings to birthday celebrations, guests are the ones who receive gifts. Gifts are usually homemade arts and crafts (工艺) – made by hand to show love, respect and thanks.

1. Usually, people around the world give gifts not for ________.

A．expressing thanks	B．a special holiday
C．showing love and respect	D．showing your richness

2. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A．In India, people usually give 701 rupees (卢比) as a gift to celebrate one’s birthday.

B．Chinese people consider four an unlucky number while eight is thought to bring prosperity.

C．Japanese people use both hands to present or receive gifts, but Indians only use their left hand.

D．In Native America, guests receive gifts instead of giving gifts at weddings.

3. From the passage, we can learn that ________.

A．when you give gifts, you should wrap them in bright colours

B．proper manners in one country may be impolite in another

C．Japanese people usually turn down the gifts if they don’t like them

D．American people don’t like giving gifts to others

【推荐2】The weather is closely related to our life. It is all around us all the time.     1     We cannot control it, but it often controls how and where we live, what we do, what we wear and what we eat. Read this passage and learn something about the weather.

    2     The weather is just the state of the atmosphere（大气）at any time, such as temperature, wind, rain, sun, etc.

    3     As we know, not every place on the earth gets the same amount of sunlight. Some places get more sunlight. So it’s warmer in those places.     4     Then those places have colder temperatures. These differences in temperature make the air and water move around the earth. The movement helps to take the heat energy from the sun across the earth. So the weather changes.

    5     Climate is a place’s weather over a long time. The weather changes from day to day and even from hour to hour. It can be sunny in the morning, cold and wet in the afternoon. But the climate changes very slowly over lots of years.

A．What is the weather?

B．What can weather do?

C．What makes the weather change?

D．Some places get little or no sunlight in winter.

E．What’s the difference between weather and climate?

F．We all like fine weather instead of bad weather.

G．It is an important part of our lives.

【推荐3】

Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin—these great scientists, are all left-handed. Does this mean that left-handers are smarter than right-handers, as some people say?

Scientific studies show that left-handers have no higher IQ than right-handers. They are just good at different things.

Left-handers and right-handers usually use different sides of their brains (大脑). Right-handers use the left side more often, but left-handers use both sides more evenly (均衡地). We use the left side of our brain to work out problems. We use the right side to create (创造). Left-handers are good at creative things such as music, art and science. But it’s not all good news for them. They often forget names and places.

Left-handers make up just 7 to 10 percent of the world’s population (人口), according to the United Nations. They have to learn to use right-handed things. Life can sometimes be hard for them.

1. Who is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Thomas Edison

B．Albert Einstein

C．Isaac Newton

D．Charles Darwin

2. What does the word “them” refer to in the last paragraph?

A．Right-handed things.	B．The United Nations.
C．The world’s population.	D．Left-handers.

3. What do scientific studies show about left-handers and right-handers?

A．Both of the two groups have the same IQ.

B．Left-handers are smarter than right-handers.

C．Right-handers are smarter than left-handers.

D．The two groups are good at different things.

4. Left-handers are better at ________ than right-handers.

A．working out problems	B．creating music and art
C．using the left side of their brain	D．remembering names and places

5. Which question does this story mainly answer?

A．What are left-handers good at doing?

B．Why are all great scientists left-handed?

C．Are left-handers really smarter than right-handers?

D．How do the left side and the right side of our brains work?

【推荐2】David Katz was sad about all the plastic(塑料)going into seas. To help stop the problem, he had an unusual idea -the “Plastic Bank”

Mr. Katz believes that one of the main reasons for plastic going into seas is that people think plastic is worthless. In poor countries, people are working so hard just to get enough food to eat, to find a place to live, and to keep themselves healthy. They don’t have time to recycle(回收利用) plastic.

The "Plastic Bank "helps the poor people solve their problems with food, houses, and health. When people recycle plastic, "Plastic Bank " pays them for recycling it

The program began in 2015 in Haiti, a poor island nation with big problems with plastic. Haiti doesn't have good programs for recycling. People just throw away plastic. It runs in rivers and seas.

“Plastic Bank” opened about 30“markets”in Haiti. At Plastic Bank markets, people can exchange(交换) the plastic they collected for money or other things they need.

The “Plastic Bank” has programs in Haiti, the Philippines, and Brazil. In the Philippines, the “Plastic Bank” works to create “Plastic Bank markets” at 1, 000 gas stations around the country.

So far(到目前为止)，the “Plastic Bank” has kept about 7 million pounds of plastic out of seas.

1. Why did David Katz start the "Plastic Bank"?

A．Because he wanted to make more money.

B．Because he thought plastic was worthless.

C．Because he wanted to make more people become rich.

D．Because he wanted to stop plastic going into seas.

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

A．无用的

B．价值连城的

C．污染环境的

D．值得期待的

3. Why do people take plastic to the "Plastic Bank”?

A．To protect seas	B．To get what they need
C．To make the streets clean	D．To travel to other countries

4. Why did the writer write the last paragraph?

A．To show the future plans	B．To make people protect the earth
C．To create more “Plastic Bank markets”	D．To show the "Plastic Bank" is successful.

5. What is the best title for the passage?

A．David Katz	B．Keeping healthy
C．The “Plastic Bank”.	D．How to protect the earth.

【推荐3】Using iPads to Make Learning Fun

Paper, pencil, whiteboard, textbook are the tools you need if you want to go to school. But recently, you can add another one to the list: an iPad.

Because the popular Apple tablet is not only useful for searching the Internet and watching videos, but it is also being used to make learning fun.

Scientists now know that we learn better when we are enjoying ourselves, so recently software developers have made iPad applications (应用程序) that look like video games, but have strong educational content. One of the best examples of this new form of teaching application is Futaba, a game in which up to four children try to recognize a spinning (旋转的) object, and then identify what it is. The game can be used to teach English, math, foreign languages, or just about anything, and students love it. Teachers can even make their own questions. The important thing is that children enjoy the game, and don’t even realize how much they are learning!

So the next time you have to choose between making your child study or letting them play a game, just remember—they could do both at the same time!

1. Futaba is ________.

A．an old kind of classroom

B．a new outdoor activity

C．a new educational application

D．a very old tool of teaching

2. How many children can take part in one Futaba game at a time?

A．7.

B．6.

C．5.

D．4.

3. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scientists think that we learn better when we are enjoying ourselves.	B．Futaba can only be used to teach languages.
C．Teachers can make their own questions using Futaba.	D．The writer thinks children can study and have fun playing games at the same time.