【推荐2】Almost all animals need to sleep to stay healthy. But sleeping can also be dangerous because other animals may hurt those who are sleeping. This leads to many different ways of sleeping that help them stay safe. Some of these ways may surprise you!

Almost all bats sleep upside down. They hang from a branch of a tree or the ceiling of a cave. Up high, bats are safe from most other animals. If they are in danger, they just fly away.

A dolphin sleeps with just half its brain at a time. It must stay awake to breathe and to watch for danger. Dolphin mothers and babies can go without sleep for as long as two months to stay safe.

Some ducks sleep with just half their brains, too. These ducks often sleep in a line. The ducks at both ends help to keep the group safe. They keep one eye open to watch for danger. The ducks in the middle sleep deeply with both eyes closed.

Seals breathe air, but that doesn’t stop some of them from sleeping underwater. They hold their breath and dive deep to sleep for up to twenty minutes at a time. Sleeping deep under- water helps these seals stay safe from animals that hunt them near the surface.

Horses often sleep standing up. Their legs lock in place so they don’t fall over. If a horse is lying down, it needs a long time to get up. A horse can run from danger more quickly if it is already standing.

A flamingo can sleep while standing on one leg. The standing leg locks so it stays straight. The other leg remains close to the flamingo’s body. Its head rests on its back. A flamingo lives (and sleeps) near many other birds to stay safe.

Some seabirds can sleep while they fly. These large birds spend most of their lives over the ocean. They are in danger on the water, but they are safe in the air They fly for many hours without flapping（拍打）their wings. Sometimes they sleep while they are flying.

Would you like to sleep how they sleep?

1. The animals that sleep with half their brains are _______.

A．dolphins and ducks	B．ducks and seals
C．bats and dolphins	D．flamingos and seabirds

2. Horses often stand up when they sleep because _______.

A．they are afraid of falling over	B．they can run from danger quickly
C．this helps them to sleep deeply	D．it takes them a long time to go to sleep

3. The underlined word “hunt” in Paragraph 5 probably means _______.

A．offer to help

B．come to teach

C．want to kill

D．refuse to protect

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A．Sleep as Animals Do	B．Sleep to Stay Healthy
C．How Animals Sleep	D．What Sleeping Animals Are Like

【推荐3】Childhood is always full of love and fun. But sometimes there are growing pains. We grow a little bit every day. What about animal babies? Are they close to their parents? What problems do they face?

Go to the kindergarten

Emperor penguin dads take care of their babies when they are eggs. As the babies grow, their dads and moms leave them in groups and go fishing. It’s like sending them to the kindergarten. There, the babies eat, learn and play together. An adult penguin looks after them.

Happy with Mom

These baby polar bears have a very good mom. She teaches them everything, including how to walk, swim and hunt. The babies will stay with their mom for two and a half years. They travel around and share their food.

▲     

Life is not easy for baby butterflies. Their parents leave them when they are caterpillars inside eggs. Later, they turn in top up as. Then, they try their best to get out and turn into beautiful butterflies. No one helps them. They are strong enough to do it on their own.

Hard from the start

On the day of their birth, the barnacle geese face a test of life and death. They have to jump from high cliffs. This is because their parents build their nests up high to keep them safe. Luckily the baby geese are light, so they don’t usually die when they hit the ground. But it is still dangerous.

1. Who take(s) care of the emperor penguins when they are eggs?

A．Their moms.

B．Their dads.

C．Their brothers.

D．The kindergarten.

2. How long can baby polar bears stay with their mom?

A．Twenty months.

B．Twenty-five months.

C．Thirty months.

D．Forty months.

3. Which is the best for “▲”?

A．Lonely kids

B．The caterpillars

C．The pupas

D．The butterflies

4. Which of the following is NOT right about the barnacle geese?

A．They build their nests in a high place.

B．The baby geese have to jump from high cliffs.

C．The baby geese don’t usually die when they falloff the cliffs.

D．It is always safe for baby geese to live on the cliffs.

5. What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Different baby animals’ childhood.	B．Many animals are living hard.
C．The growing pains in childhood.	D．A lonely and funny childhood.

【推荐1】   

When studying a map of China, have you ever noticed the Mu Us Desert（毛乌素沙地）in the northwest? If you haven’t, then you probably never will. That’s because the desert is disappearing (消失).

You might wonder: Why is this happening? Who is the “killer”? Well, this is not a murder（谋杀）story. It is, the result of years of afforestation（无林地造林）efforts.

The Mu Us Desert used to be one of the largest deserts in China. Sandstorms（沙尘暴）were common in northern Shanxi. As a result, lots of people had to leave their homes.

The fight against desertification（沙漠化） began in the 1970s. The work was more than tiring. He Li led an afforestation team in Bulanghe, a town in Yulin, however, a strong wind blew away all the young trees. It was no use to cry. The next day, the team replanted all the trees.

In Yulin, there are many other sandstorm fighters. One of them is Guo Chengwang. In 1985, the government encouraged local people to plant trees. So he started to plant trees in his village. Guo is now over ninety years old. His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still going on doing the job. The family has turned 30 km² of desert into woods.

These trees have make a difference. In Yulin, the number of sandy days has dropped from 100 in 2000 to 10 now. With the sandstorm fighters’ continuing efforts, the Mu Us Desert will be gone. Our country is becoming greener and lovelier.

1. Why is the Mu Us Desert disappearing?

A．Because sandstorms are common there.	B．Because many people left their homes.
C．Because people didn’t grow trees there.	D．Because sandstorm fighters continue to plant trees there.

2. When did the fight against desertification start?

A．In the 1960s.

B．In the 1970s.

C．In 1985.

D．In 2000.

3. What can you learn from Paragraph（段）4?

A．The number of sandy days has dropped down.

B．He Li has turned 30 square kilometers of desert into woods.

C．The fight against desertification was not easy for the afforestation team.

D．It is said that the Mu Us Desert used to be one of the largest deserts in China.

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

A．The Mu Us Desert is in the northwest of China.

B．There used to be few sandstorms in northern Shanxi.

C．The Mu Us Desert will be gone and China will be greener and lovelier.

D．Guo Chengwang and his family have turned 30 square kilometers of desert into woods.

【推荐2】 阅读短文，从文后所给的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，其中有一个多余选项。

The Earth is very important to us. Most of us don’t want to pollute it.     1     Here are some easy things that you can do to protect it.

Plant flowers, grass or trees. The plants can make the environment around you become beautiful.     2    

Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. You can save some water by not letting it run all the time. Also, use a glass cup instead of a paper cup because this can protect forests.

    3     In this way, you can protect plants and fish in the rivers or lakes.

Ask all your friends to do the same things to help protect the Earth. You don’t have to wait for Earth Day to do these things.     4    

If everyone does something good to protect the Earth, it will become more beautiful.

A．Make every day Earth Day.

B．How can we protect the trees?

C．Stop putting dirty water into the rivers or lakes.

D．But we don’t protect the Earth in some right ways.

E．Also, more trees and plants can make the air clean.

【推荐3】Do you often use plastic straws (吸管)? You probably use them to drink lots of things, such as cola or milk tea.     1     They are made in 10 minutes, used in 20 minutes and remain on the earth for over 100 years since they can't be broken down (分解) easily.

But how do plastic straws get into the ocean? Through human mistakes, they are often thrown everywhere. The waste management in some areas is so poor. All gutters (排水沟) lead to our ocean.     2     Once a turtle was found bleeding because a 12-centimeter-long plastic straw was pushed into its nose. How terrible!

    3     That is enough to circle nearly two-and-a-half times around our planet! If we didn't act now, there would be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050.

Luckily, more and more people around the world have realized this problem. They begin to consider if they really need to use plastic straws when drinking drinks.

So what can we do to reduce (减少) plastic pollution?     4     For example, next time you go to a restaurant, make sure you order your drink without a straw. What if people need to use a straw? There are reusable straws that can be cleaned and reused instead.

Starbucks (星巴克) has started to offer strawless lids (盖子) and paper straws instead of plastic straws in almost 1, 000 stores in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Starbucks is not alone.     5     It is hoped that more businesses and customers will play a part in protecting our environment.

A．Even worse, plastic straws kill ocean life.

B．So plastic straws mustn't be thrown into the ocean.

C．Plastic straws are small but they are a big problem.

D．The simplest way is to say "No" to single-use plastic, like straws.

E．McDonald's has also taken action to reduce the use of plastic straws.

F．In fact, around 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the US alone.

【推荐1】

Summer is a great time to improve your child's reading! Reading over the summer can help your child keep up his reading gains during the past school year and also help him prepare for the next year! How to sign up (注册): We are inviting you to sign up for free to help your child be an active reader this summer! *Go to www Readfun.org * Select "Parent” (NOT "Teacher") *Click on the blue "Sign Up" What we provide: We provide you with thousands of free, high-quality articles with questions and activities. To make summer reading easy, we have selected interesting and knowledge-filled articles of different levels. You can go to www.Readfun.org/summer-reading to download and print the articles for free. How to use: TIP 1: Articles for summer reading should be accessible, so be sure to choose articles at your child's reading level. Don't be afraid to start with articles of lower grade levels. The important thing is that he reads, reads, reads! TIP 2: It's also important to help your kid develop good reading habits. Help him keep a good record of his summer reading. Besides, encourage him to discuss what he has read with family members. That way, you will all have a good time. We wish you and your family a great summer!

1. The first two sentences of the text above are about ________.

A．different types of books	B．the coming school year
C．the importance of summer reading	D．good places for summer reading

2. The underlined word "accessible" in the text means "easy to ________".

A．write

B．discuss

C．understand

D．compare

3. The text above is written to ________.

A．introduce a reading project	B．sell books to school kids
C．encourage parents to read more	D．share reading experience

【推荐2】Farthing is moving indoors，where the sun never shines，where rain never falls and where the weather is always proper． The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light， temperature，wetness，air quality and nutrition．   It could be in a building in New York or in a desert in Sahara．

The world is already having trouble feeding itself．   Half the people on Earth live in cities，and nearly half of those are hungry or ill﹣fed．   Food prices are buffeted by，floods and the cost of energy required to plant， harvest and transport it．   And prices will only get more changeable．   Farmers in many parts of the world already are using water available to the last drop．   And the world is getting more crowded by mid﹣century，the world's population will grow front 6． 8 billion to 9 billion．

To feed so many people may require more farmland ， as a result ， forests and wilderness（荒地）are becoming fewer and fewer．

Gertjan Meeuws has taken the idea of a greenhouse a step further，   growing vegetables and houseplants in enclosed（封闭的）environments． In their research station ， water flows into the fields when needed，and the temperature is kept the same．   Lights go on and off，   creating similar day and night，but according to the needs of the plants．

A building of 100 square meters and 14 layers（层）of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch， about 140，000 people． Their idea isn' t to grow foods that require much space，like corn or potatoes．   Here sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful．   Plants need only specific（特定地）light to grow．   Their growth speed is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions．   They use about 90 percent less water than outdoor agriculture．   And city farming means producing food near the citizens， and there's no need to transport it long distances．

1. The underlined word "buffeted" in Paragraph 2 means　 　．

A．badly influenced

B．caused

C．divided

D．well achieved

2. Which of the following is TRUE of the environments in the research station？　 　

A．The temperature is often changed．

B．Sunshine is in great need for plants．

C．Day and night depends on plants．

D．Air quality is controlled by plants．

3. It can be inferred from the text that Gertjan Meeuws's farming　 　．

A．is of great help to the people who live in the city

B．saves less water compared with outdoor agriculture

C．is completely different from greenhouse agriculture

D．requires much space and suits the production of corn

4. What is the passage mainly about？　 　

A．Disadvantages of outdoor farming

B．Development of greenhouse farming

C．The world's food problems

D．Sunless，rainless indoor farming

【推荐3】In the Americas, Asia, and Africa there’s a special kind of forest called the cloud forest. Cloud forests can be found in the clouds on the mountains.

Like rainforests, cloud forests experience rainfall, but they also catch water straight from the air. Water condenses (凝结), you’ll hear the drop of water, even if it’s not raining. The water caught is clear and unpolluted (流动) through the ground into rivers.

Some people call cloud forests water towers, because they are so important in providing water for nearby villages and cities. But it’s not just humans who depend on cloud forests. They are also home to a lot of animals and plants.

Cloud forests are very special places. But they face problems. Local poor people clear the forests so that they can grow crops. They also hunt endangered animals for meat, and cut down trees to heat their homes and cook. Farmers convert (改造) the land so that they can grow fruits, and coffee beans.

Once cloud forests are cleared, the harm can be irreversible (不可逆转的). Many species which are important to the ecosystem (生态系统), goes away.

Cloud forests are very valuable. With laws to protect them, we might be able to save them before it’s too late.

1. The water of cloud forests comes from ________.

A．the rain

B．the air

C．rivers

D．clouds

2. What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The meanings of cloud forests.	B．The problems of cloud forests.
C．The advantages of cloud forests.	D．The importance of cloud forests.

3. From Paragraph 4, we know ________.

A．people are trying to save the cloud forests

B．people are doing harms to the cloud forests

C．farmers are making better uses of cloud forests

D．farmers are turning the cloud forests into green land

4. What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To ask people to protect cloud forests.

B．To tell people cloud forests are valuable.

C．To make people know more about forests.

D．To encourage people to walk close to nature.

5. What is the best title of the passage?

A．Forest, animals’ home

B．Cloud forests in danger

C．A special kind of forest

D．Better late than never

【推荐1】Everyone knows that a favourite food of the American is the hamburger.

The best place to buy hamburgers is a fast-food restaurant. In these restaurants, people ask for their food, and wait just a few minutes. Then when the food is ready, they take it to their tables themselves. They can eat it in the restaurant or take the food out in a paper box and eat it at home, at work, or in a park. At some restaurants, people can drive up beside a window. They ask for the food and the worker hands it to them through the window. Then they drive off and eat in their cars.       

Some fast-food restaurants also sell fish, chicken, sandwiches, soft drinks and so on. Fast-food restaurants are very popular because the service(服务) is fast and the food is not too dear（贵）. For many people, this is very important. In the United States, about 20% of all are too tired to cook dinner for the family in the evening. So fast-food restaurants are a great help to people.

1. It’s convenient and saves time. So drivers usually buy and eat their fast food________.

A．at home	B．in the restaurant
C．in a par	D．in their cars

2. Which of the following do some fast food restaurants sell?

A．Beef, fish and sweets.	B．Sandwiches, chicken and drinks.
C．Noodles and dumplings.	D．Fish, vegetables and tea.

【推荐2】Do you feel tired sometimes? Nowadays, stress is everywhere in our daily life. Not just men, women and young people also suffer from stress.
There are many causes, such as: death, marriage, money, moving house, changing jobs, ending relationships.
So how do you know if you suffer from stress? Do the Stress Test and find out!
Stress Test
Do you …? Yes No
1. often sleep badly?
2. get headaches a lot?
3. find it difficult to relax?
4. need alcohol (酒精) or cigarettes to keep calm?
5. usually hide your feeling?
6. find it difficult to put your heart into something?
7. take sleeping pills?
8. get angry when things go wrong?
If you have more than two “Yes” among these questions, you are suffering from stress. So what can you do about it?
Doing yoga (瑜伽), chewing gum and playing with worry beads (念珠) are all common ways of relieving (减轻) stress. However, doctors now say that there are simpler ways. They say that people should laugh and smile more often. When you laugh and smile, your body relaxes. They also say that people—and especially men—ought to cry more often, because cry ing is the natural way of relieving stress.
1. From the passage, we can know that .

A．many soc ial problems can cause stress

B．young people suffer more from stress than the old

C．doing yoga is the most useful way to relieve stress

D．if all the answers are yes, you are suffering from stress

2. You may suffer from stress if you .

A．never depend on alcohol or cigarettes

B．can sleep without sleeping pills

C．often communicate with anyone else

D．easily get angry when things go wrong

3. Which of the following is NOT a way to relieve stress?

A．Doing yoga.	B．Taking sleeping pills.
C．Laughing and crying.	D．Playing with worry beads.

【推荐3】Zhang Ming, a college student from Shandong, created a 9-page “WeChat guide”. With drawings and simple words, the step-by-step guide explains how to send messages, take pictures and make video calls. Zhang made the guide for his parents. “My parents are getting old. They need an easy way to learn how to use new technology.” He said.

Zhang’s experience is common nowadays. Worldwide, 40 percent of parents learn about new technologies, including computers, mobile Internet and social media, from their children, according to a study from the International Communication Association in 2014.

Parents used to teach their kids about almost everything. Now for the first time, the teachers become the students, and the students turn into the teachers.

The change of roles comes from the rapid development of society and technology, says Zhou Xiaohong, a sociology professor from Nanjing University. Zhou said the Internet and other forms of media give children ways to get information besides from asking older generations(长辈). Therefore, in the age of information, it’s possible that children know more than their parents do.

According to the China Internet Network Information Center(CINIC), 56.7 percent of Internet users and 67.2 percent of social media users in China are under the age of 30. The younger generation usually acts as alinkbetween their family and the new environment. But when they teach their parents new technologies, parents can connect to the new world by themselves, noted Zhou.

In Zhang Ming’s eyes, teaching his parents about WeChat brings him closer to his parents. “People can communicate more by using new technology. Why should we keep our parents out?” said Zhang.

1. According to the passage, Zhang’s parents can’t_______with the “WeChat guide”.

A．make video calls	B．send messages
C．grab the red envelopes	D．take pictures

2. Why does children know more than their parents do nowadays?

A．Because parents teach the children about almost everything.

B．Because children can ask more older generations for help.

C．Because parents are getting old.

D．Because children can get more information by using new technoloies.

3. What does the underlined word “link” in paragraph 5 mean?

A．teacher	B．connection
C．treasure	D．conversation

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Zhang Ming’s “We Chat guide” is made up of drawings and simple words.

B．40% of parents lean about new technologies from their children all over the world on 2014.

C．56.7% of social media users in China are under 30 according to the CINIC.

D．Zhang Ming thinks that we should encourage our parents to use more new technolohies.

5. What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Ways of using new technology

B．Kids can also teach parents

C．How parents connect to the world

D．Ways to get information