1 . Comic strips have become a fun way to spend time for those who love pictures and a good story. You might have read a few—or many—but have you ever made one (A) on your own? If your fingers itch (发痒) to create, this article will (B) ________ you on the journey to drawing a comic strip with cool characters. All you need (C) ________ the desire (渴望) to draw, a good imagination and a moderate (适度的) sense of humor. Also, (D) you should use the proper reading skills to help you.
To make a comic strip, first, (E) 必须想出一个故事. And (F) it should be made interesting with an exciting ending. After the story is created, pictures must be drawn. Look at the comic strip in the book. Speech and thought bubbles have been added (G) in order that the pictures can be understood easily. A line of words called a “caption” has been put at the top of the fifth (H) one to explain a change of place or time.
1. 请写出 (A) 和 (G)的同义词：2. 请在 (B) 和 (C) 处填入适当的单词：
3. 请将 (D) 改成同义句：… the proper reading skills should
4. 请将 (E) 翻译成英语：
5. 请写出 (F) 和 (H) 分别指代的是：
The third largest country in the world
China is the third largest country in the world. In the north-west, you can find the hottest and driest places in the country. In the west, the countryside is beautiful, and the mountains are high. Some of the mountains are more than 7000 metres high. They are covered with ice and snow all year round, so people cannot live there. Qomolangma is the highest mountain in the world. It is also in the west. Every year people from all over the world try and climb it.
Some of China’s most important rivers begin in these mountains. In the west, they are very small. Then they become bigger as they flow to the east. Rivers like the Changjiang River and the Yellow River begin in the west of China.
In some places, the rivers are connected to big lakes, like Dongting Lake in Hunan Province. Most of the rivers run to the east and the south. In time, they run into one of China’s seas—the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea or the South China Sea.
1. Is China the largest country in the world?2. Why can’t people live on the high mountains in the west?
3. Where do the Changjiang River and the Yellow River begin?
4. What are some of the rivers in China connected to?
Perhaps the earliest and most important invention was the invention of fire in human history. Lightning (闪电) would hit a tree in a forest and cause a large fire. People probably first used fire from lightning. People would use a small piece of burning wood from the fire to start their own small fires.
With these fires, ancient people could cook food and keep warm. They could also see more easily at night. Of course, the piece of wood would soon stop burning, and they would not be able to create fire from it again. They had to find other ways to create fire by themselves. One way to create fire is by rubbing (摩擦) two pieces of wood together. This is difficult because it can take a lot of time. Another way is by hitting two rocks together. This is also not an easy job. An easier way is by using a piece of glass and the light from the Sun to start a fire. However, you need a good piece of glass and a sunny day for this.
Inventors in China created matches around A. D. 500. However, early matches were difficult to make and could be dangerous to use. People did not develop the first really useful matches until the 1830s.
1. What invention might be the earliest and most important invention in human history?2. What could ancient people do with fires?
3. How many ways could people use to create fire by themselves in the past?
4. Why is it difficult to create fire by rubbing two pieces of wood?
5. When did inventors in China create matches?
| “Boiling” (沸腾的) Cold Water The water looks like it is boiling in this experiment, but in fact it isn’t. It’s still 1 ! | |
| You will need: √ A large 2 √ Water √ A handkerchief (手帕) √ A strong rubber band (橡皮筋) | |
| Experiment Steps | |
| ① Pour water into the large drinking glass until it is three-quarters full. | |
 ② Make the handkerchief wet, put it over the drinking glass and 3 it in with your fingers until it touches the water. Put the rubber band around the drinking glass to hold the handkerchief. |  ③ Hold the handkerchief and turn the glass upside down quickly. Pull the handkerchief and the rubber band so that the handkerchief is flat( 平整的) across the mouth of the glass. |
 What happened? Bubbles (气泡) rise through the water. It looks like it is boiling. In fact, they are bubbles of air. The air is pushed through the small holes in the handkerchief. Water does not run downwards through the handkerchief. Why? Because a force called “surface tension (表面张力)” holds water in those small 4 . | |
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5. What can you learn from the experiment?
During ancient（古代的）times, children didn’t have smart phones, iPads or computers to play. So they found something interesting to do. Let’s take a look. Playing stone balls（踢石球） During the Qing Dynasty（清朝）（1644-1911）, playing a stone ball was a popular sport in the north of China. Children often played stone balls to keep warm in winter. Stones were made into small balls and played with feet. Flying kites Kites have a long history. The earliest kites were made of（由……制成）wood（木头）. It’s getting popular to fly a kite in spring now. The three most popular kites are the Beijing kite, Tianjin kite and Weifang kite. Hide-and-seek（捉迷藏） Hide-and-seek can bring children quite a lot of fun. There are two ways to play: covering（遮盖）a child’s eyes while other kids run around to tease（逗弄）him, or some children hide and one child must try to find them. Setting off firecrackers（爆竹） Firecrackers have a history of more than 2,000 years. Many years ago, there was a beast（怪兽）named Nian. To scare off（吓跑）the beast, people burnt（点燃）the firecrackers. Firecrackers are still set off（燃放）during Spring Festival nowadays. |
2. Why did children love to play a stone ball in winter?
3. What were the earliest kites made of?
4. How do children feel about Hide-and-seek?
5. When do people set off firecrackers nowadays?
6 . Like many other animals, swallows will fly south when the days turn cold and the leaves from trees begin to fall. They travel many miles to find a warmer winter. This type of travel is called migration (迁徙).
Birds are animals that like to migrate a lot when it is cold. About 600 out of 9,000 kinds of birds do it. They leave in autumn and come back during the warm spring months.
Many birds don’t like the cold. They need food, but plants die and insects (昆虫) hide in winter. So, they’ll only come home the next year, when there will be plenty of food for them to eat.
But the trip is often hard and not safe. Many birds fly in groups and make noises. Cranes fly in groups like the letter V, or in a row. Others travel in pairs or alone.
Some can travel a very long way. They fly between lands. For example, the Arctic Tern can travel 20,100 kilometres. They build a home near the North Pole, go to the Antarctic (南极洲) in autumn, and then come back in spring.
How do the birds find their way? They look at things like the sun, moon and stars. They never get lost.
阅读短文，根据短文内容填表（每空不超过三个单词, 最后一空为开放性试题，可多于三个单词）：
| What is migration? | It’s when animals travel from cold places to find a |
| Why do birds migrate? | There’s not much |
| How do birds migrate? | The trip is often |
| How do birds find their way? | They find their way by looking at the |
| What can we learn from birds’ migration? | Animals are born naturally to be able to |
A new type of coronavirus appeared in Wuhan in December, 2019. It quickly caused an outbreak of pneumonia（肺炎）. Many people, especially the elderly suffered from the disease. It caused great loss of life and property（财产）.
But what is a coronavirus? Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals. In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic（人畜共患疾病）, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are a few human coronaviruses that are known to be deadly（致命的）, such as MERS（中东呼吸综合症）and SARS. The Wuhan coronavirus is currently thought to be more mild（轻微）than SARS and MERS and takes longer to develop symptoms（症状）. The average age of people who are infected（受感染）is 40 or over.
Viruses can spread from human contact with animals or contact with an infected person’s secretions（分泌物）. They can also be transmitted by touching something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
So you may be able to reduce your risk of infection by avoiding people who are sick. Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash your hands often with soap and water and for at least 20 seconds. Awareness is key. Don’t go to somewhere crowded and don’t forget to wear a mask when you have to go out!
1. When did the new type of coronavirus appear in Wuhan?2. Are coronaviruses common among humans or animals?
3. What is the average age of people who are infected by coronavirus?
4. What should we wear when we want to go out?
5. How long should we wash our hands with soap and water in order to reduce the risk of infection?
Early in the morning, at noon, or in the evening, in big cities and in the countryside, all across the United States, you can see American people running. Men and women, young people and old people are running. People run everywhere—along the beaches, through the park, down quiet streets or at the gym（体育馆）. Some people even run in their living room.
Running didn’t use to be so popular. In the 1960s, runners were mostly athletes and healthy strange people. In those days, when people saw a runner, they used to say,” Hey, what’s the hurry for?” Or they might say to themselves. “Is he crazy（疯狂的）?”Women almost never ran. If they did, they might hear a man shout, “If I catch you, can you buy me a drink?” But today all these have changed. Men and women of all ages enjoy running.
Doctors say many of the health problems in the United States come from these bad habits: Eating too much smoking cigarettes and not exercising enough. Doctors tell us,” Eat less, don’t smoke, and exercise more. “Running is good exercise because it helps get strong hearts and lungs（肺）. It also helps most people lose weight.
1. What sports do people like doing in the United States?2. Where do American people do the sport?
3. Who were runners in the US in the 1960s?
4. Which can cause health problems except eating too much and smoking cigarettes?
5. How many good points of running are there in the passage?
Do you know the avocado （牛油果）? Do you like it? Here is some information about it.
The avocado comes from Mexico and South America. In the 1990s, a Mexican used the avocado to make a sauce（酱料）. Now, people all over the world love it. The avocado has bumpy skin（凹凸不平的皮肤）and it looks like the pear very much, so people call it “ alligator pear” .
The avocado is a kind of healthy food. It’s good for people because it’s rich in nutrients （营养成分） and “ good” fats. It’s good for our eyes. People make sandwiches and salad with avocados.
That’s not all. You can find many things about avocados on the Internet.
1. Where does the avocado come from?2. What does the avocado look like?
3. Which part of your body is the avocado good for?
4. What do people make with avocados?
5. Where can we find information about avocados?
Marine Turtles
[1] Marine turtles travel the world’s oceans today, as they have done for around 100 million years, but they have never faced so many threats to their survival as they do now. Despite being determined ocean travellers, turtles need to come ashore to nest and lay their eggs. Although many of the sandy beaches they prefer are protected from poachers, climate change is warming up the sand, and there is evidence that this is changing the sex of some unborn turtles.
[2] At sea, turtles have always faced natural predators, such as large sharks, but they now face an increasing number of threats from man. The reptiles are hunted for their skin, meat and distinctive shells. Additionally, they can become entangled in fishing gear or struck by ships, as they swim close to the surface of the water. Marine turtles must surface to breathe — if not they will drown.
[3] Young turtles migrating between feeding areas can cover thousands of miles. Environmental charities claim that turtles contribute to marine ecosystems wherever they go, by keeping sea grass beds and coral reefs healthy. Without their feeding, marine vegetation can become overgrown and sickly, leading to the suffering of other species.
[4] Sadly, all seven species of marine turtle are in danger of extinction. Hawksbill and leatherback turtles are among the most famous varieties. Hawksbill turtles are much sought after for their beautiful brown and yellow shells that are used to manufacture tortoiseshell items. Leatherback turtles are killed in some places for their meat and precious eggs.
[5] As marine turtles risk their lives to come onto land to lay their eggs, the odds seems tacked against them. The length of time required to reach maturity and the many natural dangers they face mean that as few as one in 1000 eggs will survive to adulthood. However, environmentalists are working hard to help these hard-headed survivors by protecting beaches. They have also designed turtle-friendly fishing nets successfully and tracking their immense journeys by satellite has helped ships to avoid them.
1. Answer the following questions in complete sentences.1) According to Paragraph 1, which two problems do marine turtles face when they nest and lay their eggs on sandy beaches?
2) What natural products are marine turtles hunted for by humans? Give two examples.
3) According to Paragraph 3, how do marine turtles help to protect marine ecosystem?
2. Decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F) or the information is Not Given (NG).
4)
5)
6)
3. Find ONE word from the article having the most similar meaning to each of the following words.
7) unique (Paragraph 2)
8) produce (Paragraph 4)
4. Some words are underlined in the article. Write down what they refer to.
9) they (line 1)
10) this (line 4)
11) their (line 14)
12) they (line 18)
5. According to Paragraph 10, complete the table below about dangers to marine turtles and solutions to the problems. Fill in each blank with ONE word only.
| Man-made Dangers | Man-made Solutions |
| Protect beaches | |
| Marine turtles caught in fishing nets | Design |
| Being struck by ships | Satellite |
