Are you interested in space? Do you want to be an astronaut? Let’s come close to them and know more.
Can anyone be an astronaut? Of course not. You don’t have to have a science degree, but most astronauts do. Most of them are pilots too. Life in a spaceship is hard so you must have a healthy body and mind. You need to be easy-going and helpful to spend so much time in a small space with other people.
What’s the training like? People have to train for a year to learn how to stay healthy and safe. They practice space walking and living in zero gravity (重力). They train in difficult situations to learn how to solve problems and to work on a team. Everyday life like eating, washing and sleeping can be difficult in a spaceship. There is no running water to wash hands. It’s hard to enjoy the dry food that astronauts have to eat. And to sleep, you must cover your eyes because the sun rises every 90 minutes on the International Space Station. You also must tie yourself to something, so you don’t fly away!
What health problems do astronauts have? Astronauts often get backache (背痛) because you grow in space-up to 8 centimeters! It’s also common to feel terrible at the beginning. So you must do a lot of exercise in space to stay healthy. And you must have vitamins to take the place of fresh fruit and vegetables.
1. Astronauts need to be easy-going and helpful.2. People can wash hands with running water in a spaceship.
3. The sun rises every ninety minutes on the International Space Station.
4. Astronauts often get backache because they do a lot of exercise in space.
5. The article is about the importance of being an astronaut.
My name is Alan. I’m an American boy. I’m a student in Guangming Middle School. I’m in Class 4, Grade 9.
Xiao Ming is my friend in Guangming Middle School, too. He is also in class 4. He is 15. Here is a picture of his family! Let’s look at it. His father is a policeman. His mother is a Chinese teacher. Xiao Ming loves his parents very much. He has two sisters. They are twins (双胞胎). Their names are Ling Ling and Li Li. The twins are in Guangming Middle School, too. They are in Class 7. They have a cat. Its name is Coco. Look! It’s on the box.
We are good friends.
1. Xiao Ming is in Class 4.2. Xiao Ming’s parents have one son and two daughters.
3. Coco is on the table in the photo.
4. From the passage (文章), we know that Alan, Ling Ling and Li Li are in different (不同的) schools.
5. The passage is mainly (主要) about Alan’s mother.
Halloween is a strange holiday. It started several centuries ago in Europe. It began as “Hallow Evening” which means “holy night”. At that time November 1st was called “All Saints’ Day” （万圣日）and people honored all the saints（圣徒）who did not have their own special day. People believed that all the spirits of dead people were active on the night of October 31st. So people would play all sorts of tricks on each other.
Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. Pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween, so orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Making lanterns out of pumpkins is a Halloween custom.
Halloween is great fun for children. They dress up as ghosts or witches（女巫）. Small children go “Trick-or-Treating”. They wear costumes, knock on doors, and shout, “Trick or Treat!” People almost always choose to give them candy as a treat, instead of choosing to receive a trick from the children. Adults sometimes “trick or treat” their friends, too. Usually the “treat” is a glass of wine or some small gifts.
1. Halloween is a holiday which started thousands of years ago.2. Both black and orange are traditional Halloween colors.
3. People, especially children have great fun playing “Trick or Treat” to celebrate Halloween.
4. People choose to receive a trick from the children instead of giving them candy.
5. This passage mainly tells us something about Halloween.
4 . Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM）has a long history in curing illnesses and caring for people’s health.
The earliest known written record of TCM is Huangdi Neijing from the third century BC. This classic writing provides the main belief of TCM that remains the basis of its practice today. The belief of TCM is about the balance between yin and yang of the body. The two sides repeat many times in the same order according to season and age to influence people’s health. It is a wonder that TCM doctors could cure patients without machines but only with a physical examination,which has four basic methods of diagnosis（诊断）—observing, listening and smelling, asking, and pulse-taking (脉诊). Observing is watching the looks to know patients’ conditions. Listening and smelling can help to collect messages through hearing the sound and smelling the smell of patients. Asking means asking about symptoms (症状) or signs and the medical history that they use. And pulse-taking is noting the pulse conditions of patients to know the changes inside or reactions of the illness.
In the development of TCM,doctors of different dynasties worked in practice and conclusion. Shennong Bencao Jing, Shanghan Zabin Lun and Bencao Gangmu are all important works for traditional medicine learners.
Nowadays, TCM has become popular all over the world.
判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”）。
1. The earliest known written record of TCM is Bengcao Gangmu.
2. Yin and yang repeat many times in the same order according to season and age to influence people’s health.
3. TCM doctors know the patients’ conditions with the help of machines.
4. Observing is watching the looks to know patients’ conditions.
5. The passage mainly tells us the books about TCM.
On the Loess Plateau (黄土高原), a donkey carries boxes of shadow play tools while five players walk with musical instruments on their backs. They travel through mountains and villages. When it becomes dark, they set up the light and paper screen and start their show.
This is a Daoqing shadow play (道情皮影戏). It is an art mixing Daoqing music and shadow play. The player holds the human characters behind the paper screen and plays a series of stories. The characters are usually made of cow skin.
The stage of the Daoqing shadow play is simple. It’s usually a table covered with a large piece of paper. The light was behind the paper screen. As the shadow player moves his fingers, the characters come to life and their looks, dress and movement can be clearly seen from the other side of the screen. The player is also the lead singer. All the characters are played and voiced by him. It’s not an easy job.
Shi Chenglin is an old shadow player. He says it takes a player ten to twenty years to be good at playing the characters well. He used to have students, but they gave up one by one.
To protect the traditional Chinese folk art, the Museum of Daoqing Shadow Play has been built in Gansu, and many artists are trying to spread it to the stage of China, and of the world.
1. Daoqing shadow play is usually played in the morning.2. The characters in Daoqing shadow play are usually made of silk.
3. The shadow player is also the lead singer.
4. Shi Chenglin’s students gave up learning Daoqing shadow play one by one.
5. This passage mainly talks about a famous Daoqing shadow player.
In the Chinese lunar calendar (农历) there are 24 solar terms (节气) in a year. Start of Summer means the coming of a new season — summer. And it usually begins in May. The temperature rises quickly during this time. Here are three things about how Chinese people celebrate Start of Summer.
Checking one’s weight. The habit of weighing people at Start of Summer is still popular in some places of China today. It’s said that this practice will bring health and good luck to the people weighed.
Eating eggs. In the old days, Chinese people believed a round egg was a symbol of a happy life and eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer was a good wish for good health. People put tea into the boiling water together with eggs to make “tea eggs”. Today it has become a famous snack in many places of China.
Taking care of the heart. According to the Traditional Chinese Medicine, Start of Summer is a key time to protect the heart. When it grows hot, heat can influence health. So people prefer food such as fruit and vegetables.
判断正误（正确“T”，错误“F”）。
1. Start of Summer usually comes in May.
2. People check their weight at Start of Summer because they believe it can bring them health and good luck.
3. In the old days, eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer made Chinese people rich.
4. People eat more fruit and vegetables at Start of Summer to protect their eyes.
5. The passage mainly tells us how Chinese people celebrate Start of Summer.
7 . Different people have different dreams. Some people dream of being rich. Some people dream of being famous. The two classmates are talking about their dreams. Let’s have a look.
Li Ming: My dream is to speak beautiful English. Maybe you will ask me why. Because I’d like to be a volunteer for the 2024 Olympics. As a volunteer（志愿者）, I will meet many foreign visitors. If I can speak beautiful English, I will be able to help them and let them learn more about China. To achieve（实现） my dream, I keep listening and speaking English on the road, on the bus, in the school and at home.
Liu Jie: I don’t want to be a police woman or a scientist. I hope to be a teacher because I admire（钦佩） teachers. Teachers not only teach us knowledge at school, but they do their best to teach us how to learn. And at the same time, we learn how to live a happy life. They spend most of time on their students. They are great. I know it is not easy to make my dream come true. But I decide to study hard from now on. I am sure my dream will come true.
判断正误。正确“T”，错误“F”
1. Everyone dreams of being rich or famous.
2. Li Ming keeps listening and speaking.
3. Li Ming and Liu Jie both dream to be a teacher.
4. Liu Jie thinks teachers teach students knowledge and how to learn.
5. The passage mainly talks about two students’ dreams.
Once upon a time, there lived a pig, a rabbit, a deer (鹿) and a kind goat (山羊) in a forest (森林). The pig, the rabbit and the deer were good friends.
The pig loved to eat candy very much. It could eat three pieces of candy per hour. And every night before going to bed, it would have a piece of candy. After having the candy, it just went to sleep without brushing its teeth. So day by day, the pig kept the bad habit of eating a lot of candy every day. The rabbit and the deer advised the pig not to eat so much candy, but the pig didn’t listen to them.
One night, the pig just finished eating a piece of candy. When it was going to bed, it had a terrible toothache suddenly. So it ran to the goat’s clinic (诊所) quickly.
The goat listened to the pig carefully and then had a good look at the pig’s teeth. It found two decayed teeth (蛀牙). “You have two decayed teeth. I must pull (拔出) them out,” The goat said. The pig knew it was wrong to eat too much candy and finally it agreed to let the goat pull its decayed teeth out after thinking twice.
After the goat pulled them out, it said, “Now you can only eat one piece of candy every day and you must brush your teeth twice a day,” The pig did as the goat said, and the pig has no more decayed tooth.
1. The pig loved to eat hamburgers very much.2. The pig usually brushed its teeth before going to bed.
3. The goat was a dentist.
4. The goat asked the pig to brush its teeth twice a day.
5. The passage mainly tells us something about the pig’s friends.
Two twin birds lived in different places near a forest. One lived near a cave (山洞) with some robbers (强盗). The other lived near an old man’s house.
One day, a young man lost his way in the forest. He walked for a long time and finally he came to the edge (边缘) of the forest. He sat down under a tree near the cave. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting, “Hurry up! There’s someone sitting under the tree. Come and take his money!” The young man was surprised. He looked up and saw a big brown bird in the tree. He also heard noises coming out of the cave. He stood up and ran away as fast as he could.
Soon, he came to the old man’s house. He sat down under a tree. Suddenly, he heard a friendly voice, “Welcome, sir. Please come in and make yourself at home.” The young man looked up and saw another big brown bird in the tree. He was surprised. “This one looks just like the other bird near the cave,” he said to himself.
“He is my brother, sir,” said the bird. “He has made friends with some robbers. They taught him to rob and steal money. I have made friends with a kind old man. He taught me to be nice to others.”
1. The two birds are twin brothers.2. The old man lived in a big tree.
3. The young man was disappointed to hear that someone wanted to take his money.
4. The old man was very kind.
5. The passage mainly tells us that we should believe in our friends.
You may think that drinking fruit juice is healthy. But that’s not quite true (真的). A study shows that drinking too much juice will cause many health problems. This is because these drinks have a lot of sugar. If a person takes in too much sugar every day, he or she is likely (可能) to have heart disease.
So some cities in the US make the price of sugary drinks much higher. They want to discourage people from buying them. Some scientists said that kids between 1 and 6 years old should not drink more than 170 ml of fruit juice each day. Kids over 6 years old should not drink more than 230 ml of fruit juice each day. It is important for us to control (控制) the sugar we take in every day.
Does this mean that eating fruit is also unhealthy? Don’t worry! Fruit is different from fruit juice. When you drink 100 ml of fruit juice, you’re eating more sugar than when you eat 100g of fruit. So, in order to keep healthy, you’d better eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice.
1. The study shows drinking too much juice is bad for health.2. According to the passage, people may have a headache if they take in too much sugar.
3. A seven-year-old kid shouldn’t drink over 230 ml of fruit juice each day.
4. People should eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice to keep healthy.
5. This passage mainly tells us that we shouldn’t eat too much fruit.
