阅读下面的短文，并完成短文后的任务。

　　Draw a giraffe in your mind．How did you draw your giraffe? Does it have a long neck? Does it have long legs? Is it really tall? When people think of giraffes, they think of their long necks．A long neck and four long legs make the giraffe the tallest land animal on earth．A giraffe is 1.8 m tall when it is born, and some giraffes get up to 6m tall when they are all grown up．

　　But did you know that giraffes also have long tongues? Have you seen the tongue of a giraffe before? A giraffe has a very long tongue which can hold and wrap(包)around objects．The tongue is designed for feeding, but it can be used in many different ways．For example, a giraffe can close its nose with its long tongue completely to keep out sand and dust．Also, a giraffe’s tongue is long enough to clean its owner’s ears as well!

　　The tongue is black in colour to protect it from getting sunburnt(晒伤)．It is nearly 56cm long．Giraffe only eat plants, and a full grown giraffe can eat 33kg of leaves a day．When giraffes look for some tall trees to eat, they sometimes fight with elephants for food．Giraffes use their tongue to eat leaves from some tall trees．The giraffe’s tongue is a helpful tool for reaching leaves and breaking off branches．

任务一：根据短文内容回答下列问题。(注意：每题答案不超过10个单词)

1．What is this article mainly about?

_____________________

2．What does a giraffe feed on?

_____________________

3．What color is the tongue of a giraffe? Why?

_____________________

4．Give two examples of the use of the giraffe’s tongue．

(1)___________________

(2)___________________

任务二：将文中划线的句子翻译成汉语。

5．___________________

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Confidence is very important in daily life．It can help you to develop a healthy attitude(态度)．A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier．They can have more chance to make themselves successful．But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions：

　　·Speak loud　When you are not confident, you can't do well what you want to do．You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you．Try to speak loud enough so that people can hear you clearly．The high voice can help you become more confident．

　　·Play sports　Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed．A strong body helps you be full of confidence．

　　·Encourage yourself　Write down a list of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well．Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done．

　　·Get rid of fear Fear comes along with failure．But it's easy to overcome(克服)if you know that failure is part of your life．Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time．Try to start again and believe you can do better．

　　·Pick up a hobby　If you like singing, sing as much as you can．In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding．And it will make you happy and confident．

1．Is confidence very important in our daily life?

2．How many suggestions can you get from the passage?

3．Which can help you to be more confident, to speak in low voice or in loud voice?

4．How Can you encourage yourself?·

5．What ‘s the main point of this passage?

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Dear Students

　　I’m very happy to be your guest speaker today．It is a great pleasure to visit your school and to meet all of you．

　　I would like to tell you about myself．I have been a news reporter for the past fifteen years．I chose this job so I could travel the world, but the job has taught me many unforgettable lessons．The work is sometimes difficult．I have seen famines(饥荒), wars, earthquakes(地震), poverty and death．But I have also seen courage, hope and happiness．

　　In India, I visited a city where there were many homeless children．Some were as

　　young as four years old．They lived by begging(乞讨)or stealing．But then a wonderful lady called Rosa opened a home for them．Within one year, she was looking after two hundred children．She clothed them, fed them and taught them．She gave them hope．

　　Another time, I was in Turkey after a terrible earthquake．In one place, I found an old lady whose house was in ruins(成为废墟)．Her son was missing and rescue workers said there was no chance that he was still alive．But the old lady did not give up hope．For four days, she moved heavy stones one at a time by herself．She did not stop until she found her son．He was alive．

　　Here in China, I met a young boy with a serious medical condition．He had undergone twenty operations and spent nearly his whole life in hospital．I thought he would be sad, but when I met him, his smile was so warm and welcoming．

　　In life, we need role models that we can admire(崇拜)and learn from．When my life is difficult, I try to remember the courage and goodness of these three people．

1．How long has Anne Holland been a news reporter?

2．What did Rosa do for the children?

3．Was the old lady’s son saved?

4．In which country did Anne Holland give this speech?

5．What lesson do you think Anne Holland learnt from these three people?

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　Peer pressure(同伴压力)can come to you in many shapes and sizes．We feel it from our peers to do certain things, dress certain ways, use certain words, eat certain foods, and on and on．No matter how old you are, there will always be peer pressure, but it can be a problem in high school．Though peer pressure can sometimes result in positive(积极的)results, usually it is used to describe a negative(消极的)influence．

　　Although everyone will probably give in to peer pressure at some time in their lives．Unluckily, there are people who are more likely to give in to negative peer pressure．They are the ones who show：

　　Little or no self-confidence

　　Loneliness

　　The activities that your peers may pressure you to do are：

　　Putting off school work to have fun

　　Allowing others to cheat by copying your homework or exams

　　Drinking and smoking

　　Teasing(嘲弄)or bullying(欺侮)others

　　It takes courage! You need to develop the self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-love that will allow you to stay comfortable with your dreams and interests．The following suggestions can be helpful：

　　Join groups whose members believe in the same things as you．

　　Develop friendships with people who do not pressure you．

　　Think about where you stand on issues so that you can give your own opinion．

　　Discuss your opinions and future plans with your parents in order to get support．

　　Unfortunately, dealing with peer pressure seems to be part of being a teenager．Know yourself, love yourself and be yourself, and don't let anyone tell you differently!

1．Does peer pressure have negative influence?

2．What kind of teenagers is most likely to give in to peer pressure?

3．Will the negative pressure lead you to study harder or drink and smoke?

4．Why is it better for teenagers to talk to their parents?

5．What does the passage mainly talk about?

阅读短文，根据其内容回答问题。

　　Phys ed(physical education)is making a comeback, but with a difference．The new way is to teach skills that are useful beyond gym class, like lifting weights, balancing their diets and building physical endurance(耐力)．

　　Considering that 15％ of American children 6 to 18 are overweight, supporters say more money and thought must be put into phys ed curriculum．In many cases, that may mean not just replacing the old gym-class model with fitness programs but also starting up phys ed programs because school boards(教育委员会)often “cut P．E．completely or decrease(减少)its teachers or the days it is offered,” says Alicia Moag-Stahlberg, the director of Action for Health Kids．The difference in phys ed programs is its short of a national standard．

　　The wisdom of the new idea has some scientific support．Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have showed how successful the fit-for-life model of gym class can be．They observed how 50 overweight children lost more weight when they cycled and skied cross-country than when they played sports．The researchers have also found that teaching group sports like football results in less overall(全体的)movement, partly because the students who are unwilling to do may sit on the bench．

　　Another problem with simply teaching group sports in gym class is that only a small part of students continue playing them after finishing their high school．The new method teaches skills that translate to adulthood, which means kids are given skills and experiences so they can lead a physically active life in their future．

1．Is the new Phys ed program different from the one before?

2．What does the new P．E．program teach the students?

3．According to the passage, what do some school boards do with P．E?

4．What are the problems with simply teaching group sports?

5．What’s the passage mainly about?

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答下面的问题。

　　Charter schools in the US operate with public money but without many of the rules that govern traditional public schools．In the United States the rules for charter schools are different from state to state．But in general these schools have greater freedom to decide what and how to teach．

　　A charter school might have nothing to do with the local public school system．It might be started by teachers, parents, community groups or a profit-making business．

　　Forty-seven million students go to traditional public schools．And more than a million students go to charter schools．

　　And now a group of charter schools have formed the Green Charter Schools Network．The idea is to have environment friendly school buildings but also to go further than that．

　　The schools teach students to give lots of time and attention to the community problems that affect them and the environment．For example, young children grow vegetables in a school garden and learn about healthy eating．Older students help recycle waste from restaurants．And local schools share what they grow in community gardens with people in need．

　　Jim McGrath is president of the Green Charter Schools Network．He says there are about two hundred “green” charter schools across the United States．And the Green Charter Schools Network holds its first national conference this October in Minnesota．Supporters of green schools say their goal is to let the movement be popular across the country．

1．Are the rules for charter schools the same in the US?

2．How many students go to charter schools?

3．What do students in charter schools often do?

4．Do teachers teach students to protect the environment or to know the Network?

5．Why do supporters hope charter schools to be popular across the country?

阅读短文，根据短文内容回答问题。

　　The computer makes doing schoolwork easier for me than it was for my mom and dad．For example, when writing book reports and stories, I use Microsoft Word instead of a pen and paper．That way, after my teacher checks my work, I can go back and make revisions without having to rewrite the whole thing．And Microsoft Word has a spell check!I use it all the time．

　　For English class, we are reading The Outsiders by S．E．Hinton．As pre-reading homework, my teacher asked us to research teenage groups on the Internet．I tried Google, Encarta, and Yahoo first, and finally found an article on www．time．com．

　　For geography homework on the United States, I used Encarta to learn about the Mississippi River．I needed to find out how deep and wide the river is, what states it runs through, and what kinds of fish live in it．I used the information to show how the geography of a country influences its economy(经济)．For example, the river’s trade paths, the number of fish caught in it and the tourist development．

　　I never go to the library to do research．It takes too much time．Since I live in New York City and both my parents work, getting to the library isn’t always easy．For a big task or research, I used to stay at the library to read, or sign out whatever books or magazines I needed．Now being able to find the information in my own living room makes everything a lot simpler．Online dictionaries and encyclopedias(百科全书)also save time．

　　Sometimes, I think the computer spoils(娇惯)my generation because it is so easy－at least physically．But computers are not like television, which does the thinking for you．You still have to use your mind．I prefer using a computer, easy, fun and fast．

1．Did his dad and mom write on the computer?

2．What software does the writer use when he writes?

3．Where can the writer find a lot of useful information for his research work quickly?

4．Why does the writer prefer using the computer a lot?

5．What does the writer think of computer?