Lantern Festival
This time, we’re going to talk about another traditional Chinese festival that comes right after the Chinese New Year’s Day. It is the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival is on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. It is the end of the Chinese New Year, always 15 days after the Chinese New Year’s Day. On the Lantern Festival, there are lantern shows and lion dances in many places of the country, as well as in the China Towns in America. One kind of the food for the festival is tangyuan. It is another kind of dumpling made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with sweet or salty fillings. The Lantern Festival is also the beginning of the daily routines of the year. It is a festival for family and friends, just like the Chinese New Year.
1. When is the Lantern Festival?2. What can you find on the Lantern Festival?
3. What do people eat specially on that day?
4. It is a festival for family and friends, isn’t it?
5. Where do people in America celebrate this festival?
6. What would you love to do on that day?
National Holidays
Countries around the world have national holidays. Of course, the holidays are on different days. The ways people celebrate national holidays are sometimes the same, though.
In the United States, the national holiday is on July 4th. There are many parades of all kinds of people and jobs on that day. People cook food outside and eat outdoors. In France, national holiday is on July 14th. There are big parades, too. Planes fly overhead in the sky to give a show sometimes. People dance in the streets. Many events such as concerts and films are free on that day.
Mexican Independence Day is on May 5th. There are big parades, too. In Mexico City, people put on play every year. The play shows how Mexico won its independence. Everywhere around the city is mariachi (墨西哥流浪乐队) music and dancing. People eat their favorite Mexican dish Mole Poblano (chocolate chicken) on that day.
1. The national holidays in different countries are on the same day.2. Mexico’s Independence Day is on July 14th.
3. In the United States, people have all kinds of parades on July 4th.
4. In France, you don’t need to pay any money if you go to the concerts on their national holiday.
5. In France, people play mariachi music on their Independence Day.
3 . In April, you can see a lot of pink and white cherry blossom in Japan. Most Japanese schools and buildings have cherry blossom trees outside. In Japan the school year begins in April. In some parts of the country, the first day of school is also the start of cherry blossom their family and friends. They sing, drink, eat and talk until late in the evening. Japanese people started to hold（举办）parties like this long ago.
There are more than 305 kinds of cherry blossom trees in Japan. The Japanese love cherry blossom. They think that a flower is like a man’s life, short but bright.
1. The underlined part “cherry blossom” refers to “________”.| A．a kind of animal | B．a kind of flower |
| C．a kind of people | D．a kind of food |
| A．the first day of school | B．the second day of school |
| C．the third day of school | D．the last day of school |
| A．Family and friends get together under the trees. |
| B．They sing, drink, eat and talk until late in the evening. |
| C．Both A and B. |
| D．They go boating and cycling. |
| A．Less than 305. | B．More than 305. |
| C．About 305. | D．305. |
| A．they mean spring time is here | B．they are lovely |
| C．they are beautiful | D．they are like a person’s life |
| A．Families and friends in Japan. | B．School life in Japan. |
| C．Cherry Blossom Trees in Japan. | D．Cherry Blossom Season in Japan. |
4 . What do we know about the sea? Most of us have seen it. We know that it looks very pretty when the sun is shining on it. We also know that it can be less pretty when the weather is terrible. What other things do we know about it?
The first thing is that the sea is very big. Look at a map of the world and you will find there is less land than sea. The sea covers 3/4 of the world. Some parts of the sea are very shallow (浅的). The sea is very deep in some places. At a place near Japan, the sea is nearly 11 kilometers deep! If the highest mountain in the world were put into the sea at the place, there would be two kilometers of water above it.
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T表示，不符合的用“F’表示。
1. All the people know about the sea clearly.
2. The sea doesn’t look pretty all the time.
3. If you look at a map of the world, you will find there’s much more sea than land.
4. The land covers three-fourths of the world.
5. The passage tells us that the depth (深度)of the sea in different places are quite different.
6. The word “it” in the last sentence means the water.
5 . Jack loves travelling by train. Travelling by train is very comfortable. Most of the trains are air-conditioned, warm in winter and cool in summer. Jack usually chooses a non-smoking section, taking a seat by the window so he can enjoy the outside views. If it is a night train, the experience can be more exciting. He just sleeps the whole night and the next day he will be in a new city. By the way, he never has to worry about his meals. The train provides food 24 hours a day.
Travelling by train has another advantage（优点）: you may meet some old friends or you can listen to people talking about something of your interest. Last week when he was on a train, for example, he ran into a primary school classmate. They didn’t hope that they could bump into（偶遇）each other that way. They talked about many things: The games they played, the jokes they made on their classmates and the funny things they had done.
1. What does Jack love travelling by?He loves
2. Why does Jack love travelling by train?
Because travelling by train
3. What section does he usually choose?
He usually chooses
4. Does the train provides food 24 hours a day?
5. Who did Jack bump into last week?
6. What did Jack think of the trip on the train?
6 . Parents are the closest people to you in the world. They love you just because you’re their children. And they’d like to do anything for you. Like a lot of middle school students, Mary has a problem. She doesn’t get on well with her parents. “I really want to be my daddy’s little girl. But my father just doesn’t understand. He talks with me but doesn’t listen to me,” said Mary.
Do you and your parents also have problems? Well, why not take a walk and have a talk with them on Saturday? A study of last year showed that 1,500 Beijing families had the same problem as Mary’s family. The children, 12 to 15 years old, didn’t like talking with their parents much. They weren’t happy at home. Of course, lots of kids feel that way. But you and your parents will be much happier if you can be friends.
Here are some ways to have a good talk with them: Find a good time to talk, like when you’re eating dinner, going out for a walk or watching TV. Tell them something you’re interested in, or ask them to talk about their lives when they were young. They love to talk about those! Listen to them carefully, and look at them in the eyes. Be honest. Your parents will trust (信任) you more. You’ll have a happy family.
1. Mary doesn’t get on well with her daddy because _________.| A．her daddy doesn’t talk to her |
| B．her parents don’t love her |
| C．she doesn’t love her parents |
| D．they can’t understand each other |
| A．You can do everything freely. |
| B．You and your parents will be much happier. |
| C．You can get much money. |
| D．You will talk a lot. |
| A．children from 12 to 15 years old |
| B．families in Beijing |
| C．families in Hebei |
| D．primary school students |
| A．going out for a walk or watching TV |
| B．something your parents are interested in |
| C．your parents’ lives in the past |
| D．some ways to have a good talk |
| A．Finding a good time to talk. |
| B．Talking to their teachers. |
| C．Listening to them carefully. |
| D．Being honest to their parents. |
| A．parents love us |
| B．parents are the closest to us |
| C．we and our parents should trust each other |
| D．we have a lot of problems |
7 . In Britain, cars, buses and bikes must keep to the left side of the street. If a person wants to cross a street, he must be very careful. Before he crosses a street, he has to stop and look to the right first and then the left. While in China, we look to the left first instead. When visitors are in London, they should learn how to take buses and underground trains. The most important of all, they must know in which direction (方向) they are going and which bus and which underground train they should take. At the bus stop they should wait for their buses to come. As soon as they get on a bus, they must pay for their fares (车费).
判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合的用“T”表示，不符合的用“F”表示
1. In England, people go along the left side of the street as we do in China.
2. When they want to cross a street, people in England do not look to the left first.
3. Visitors in London should learn to drive buses.
4. When they take a bus in England, visitors must make sure in which direction it is.
Some people like playing games themselves, but some enjoy watching others play. They buy tickets or turn on their TV sets to watch the games. They usually have “their teams” or “their players”. When “their teams” can’t win the game they are even sadder than the players themselves. Sports change with seasons. People play different games in different seasons. Most people’s favourite sport in summer is swimming and skating is usually a winter sport.
Sometimes people play games inside the room, and sometimes they play outside. We can find sports here and there. Some sports are very interesting and many people like them. Football, for example, is very popular in the world. Men and women, old and young all like it. People from different countries can’t understand each other at the beginning, but after a game they often become good friends.
1. How do people watch the games?2. How do they feel when “their teams” or “their players” lose the game?
3. Do people play the same games in different seasons?
4. What is most people’s favourite sport in summer?
5. Can people from different countries understand each other after a game?
6. What do you think of sports?
All students need to have good study habits. When you have good study habits, you learn things quickly. You also remember them easily.
Do you like to study in the living room? This is not a good place, because it is usually too noisy. You need to study in a quiet place, like your bedroom. A quiet place will help you only to think about one thing.
When you study, do not think about other things at the same time. Only think about your homework. If you do so, you will do your homework more quickly, and you will make fewer mistakes.
Good study habits are very important. If you do not have them, try to learn them. If yours are good, try to make them better.
1. Each student needs to have good study ________.| A．times | B．habits | C．books | D．rooms |
| A．do our homework quickly | B．make a lot of mistakes in homework |
| C．remember words quickly | D．spend all the time doing homework |
| A．sing a song | B．talk with others | C．think about only one thing | D．watch TV |
| A．study hard | B．study well | C．remember new words | D．use our heads |
| A．It is better to study in the bedroom than living room. |
| B．Think about only one thing when study. |
| C．If you don’t have good study habit, you can also learn easily. |
| D．One should always keep good study habits. |
| A．Reading English among a crowd of people. |
| B．Thinking only about Maths in a Maths class. |
| C．Drawing pictures while listening to the teacher. |
| D．Thinking in Chinese while talking in English. |
10 . Chinese schools are very different from British schools. In Britain, students have fewer classes than in China. In Britain, classes start at 9:00 a. m. and finish at 3:30 p. m. British students also have less homework than Chinese students. This gives British students more free time to go to the school club. There are many different school clubs like football clubs, swimming clubs, film clubs and book clubs.
School uniforms in Britain are also different from some school uniforms in China. In Britain, students usually wear a skirt or trousers, a jacket and a tie. Some people think that this looks very smart, but other students do not think their uniforms look very nice and they want to wear their own clothes to school.
In Britain, students study the same subjects as in China. They have to study Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, PE, Computer studies, Art and Languages.
Different students have different opinions about school in Britain. Some students think school life is very interesting and important, but some students think it’s boring and difficult.
1. What time do the classes start in Britain?| A．At 3:30 a. m. | B．At 3:30 p. m. |
| C．At 9:00 a. m. | D．At 9:00 p. m. |
| A．Dancing and computer clubs. | B．English and history clubs. |
| C．Swimming and film clubs. | D．Geography and football clubs. |
| A．A skirt or trousers, a jacket and a tie. |
| B．Trousers and a sweater. |
| C．A coat and a tie. |
| D．A shirt and a tie. |
| A．All of them. | B．None of them. |
| C．Some do and some don’t. | D．We don’t know. |
| A．Chinese, Maths, English. | B．Maths, Science, Politics. |
| C．Science, History, German. | D．Languages, Maths, English. |
| A．timetable | B．subjects |
| C．uniforms | D．life |
