1 . Fiona was a very popular girl at school. She was clever and fun, and got on well with everyone. It was no accident that Fiona was so popular. From an early age she had made an effort to be kind and friendly to everyone. She invited the whole class to her birthday party, and from time to time she would give presents to everybody. She felt very lucky; no other student had so many friends at school.

But everything changed on National Friendship Day. On that day, in class everyone had to make three presents to give to their three best friends. However, when all the presents had been made and shared out among classmates, Fiona was the only one who had not received a present! She spent hours crying. How could it be possible? Everyone came and tried to console (安慰) her for a while. But each one only stayed for a short time before leaving.

When she got home that night, Fiona asked her mother where she could find true friends. “Fiona, my dear,” answered her mother. “You’re a lovely girl, but you can’t be a close friend to everybody. You cannot buy friends with a smile or a few good words.”

Hearing this, Fiona thought about her mother. Her mother was always ready to help her, and she bore all of Fiona’s dislikes and problems, and she always forgave (原谅) her, and she loved her a lot... That was what makes friends! Fiona smiled from ear to ear, realizing that she already had the best friend anyone could ever want.

3 . One day, Mrs. Smith was sitting in the doctor’s waiting room when a young boy and his mother came in. The young boy caught Mrs. Smith’s attention because he wore a patch (眼罩) over one eye. She felt surprised at how natural he seemed to be even though he lost one of his eyes.

As they were waiting, Mrs. Smith took a chance to ask the little boy what happened to his eye. He thought about her question for a while, and then replied, lifting the patch, “There’s nothing wrong with my eye. I’m a pirate (海盗)!” Then he returned to his game.

Mrs. Smith was at the doctor’s because she lost her leg in a car accident. It’s a terrible experience to her. She could not get out of the fear and sadness. Her trip today was to check the leg over.

The word “pirate” changed her life. She seemed to see that she dressed as Long John Silver, a famous pirate, standing on a ship. The ship rocked under the storm’s force. Still she stood there. She smiled into a storm.

At that moment, her courage returned. A few minutes later, the nurse called her. As she balanced on her crutches (拐杖), the boy noticed her leg. “Hey lady,” he called,“ what’s wrong with your leg?” The young boy’s mother felt very sorry for her son’s question. But Mrs. Smith replied with a smile, “Nothing. I’m a pirate, too.”

6 . Hi, I’m Wei Yan. There are lots of delicious food in the world. But I like beef noodles best. My parents also like beef noodles. But my mother is always busy with her work. So, she often has no time to cook what I like. When I want to eat beef noodles, I often go to the restaurant.

Yesterday I went to a restaurant to eat beef noodles. On my way home, I thought as my mother’s warm girl, I should learn to make beef noodles. If I can cook them for my mother, she must be surprised and happy. So, when I got home, I began to learn to make beef noodles on the computer. Here’s the recipe.

At the beginning of cooking, you should boil some noodles. Next cut up some beef. Then mix them up and at last you should add some relish and sauce. The beef noodles are not only look good, but also are good for our bodies.

At 7 o’clock in the evening, my mother came home. When she saw what I cooked for her, her smile told me that my guess was right. My mother had two big bowls of beef noodles!

7 . Hi! I’m the Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway. I’ve felt happy recently because a new high-speed railway now joins the two cities. Do you want to know my story?

I’m 114 years old now. The one who made me was Zhan Tianyou. He was a brave and smart man. He believed China should build its own railways. So he built me, China’s first railway.

In the past, my trains used steam (蒸汽). They went very slowly. Their top speed was only 35km/h. Then, the trains started to use diesel (柴油). They went a little faster than the old ones. Later, there were even faster trains which used electricity (电). But it still took more than three hours to travel from Beijing to Zhangjiakou.

In 2020, the new high-speed railway opened on Dec. 30. I was so excited. It helped people travel much faster than the ones in the past. The high-speed ones had a top speed of 350km/h! It only took 47 minutes to travel from Beijing to Zhangjiakou.

During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, Beijing and Zhangjiakou welcomed lots of people around the world. The railway played an important role.

I’m too old to keep working these days, but people will keep me as part of history. It’s a little sad. But I’m still proud of all the changes China has made. Zhan Tianyou must be proud, too.

8 . Many years ago, there was a young girl named Pepsy. She thought she was bad-looking and didn’t feel like going out. But there were times when she had to go out shopping. She was unhappy and sometimes even angry when people looked at her face.

One night, a strange old woman came to Pepsy’s house. She said to Pepsy, “My child, let me help you. Put this magic (有魔力的) flower in your hair, and you’ll become beautiful.”

Pepsy did what the woman said. Something strange happened. Pepsy was surprised to see herself so beautiful in the mirror. She ran happily out of her house. She walked on the street and smiled at everyone. She became very friendly and nice, very different from what she was before. Almost all the people said, “Pepsy is so beautiful today!”

Finally, Pepsy returned to her house. But when she entered the house, she saw the magic flower on the floor. She left the flower there before she went out. She didn’t wear it when walking on the street!

9 . Good morning! I’m Kate, and this is my sister Gina. I’m tidy, but Gina is not. In our room, my books and tapes are in the bookcase. My (A) ________ (key) are in my schoolbag. I have a clock. (B)   It is on the desk. (C) ________ (Gina) books are everywhere—on her bed, on the sofa and under the chair. (D) She has a white model plane. It’s under the desk “Where’s my ruler? Where’s my schoolbag?” Gina always asks.

10 . Hello, everybody. My name is Wang Xiang. I’m in a middle school. I like our school very much.

Today is Monday, October 26th. This is a busy day. In the morning, at 8:00 I have Chinese. The Chinese lesson is interesting. (A) Our Chinese teacher, Mr. Wang, is really fun. All the students in our class like him. Then at 9:00, we have math. I don’t like math, because it’s difficult. Next, at 10:10, I have English. I like English very much. And at 11:10, I have P. E. That’s my favorite subject. (B) I have lunch at 12:00 in my school. In the afternoon, I have two lessons. At 2:00, I have science. It’s difficult, but interesting. After that, I have music. Music is relaxing. I like my music teacher, too. She is young and beautiful. Then we can play sports for an hour.