Some things can carry messages, for example, a sign at the bus stop helps you to know which bus to
take. Signs on the door tell you where to go in or out. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of signs
around you and that you receive messages from them all the time?
     People can communicate on many other ways. An artist can use his drawing to tell about beautiful
mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell you about all the wonderful
things in the world and also about people and their ideas.
     Books, magazines, TVs, radios and films all help us to communicate (交际, 交流) with others. They
all help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.
1. What can help you if you want to know which bus to take?
________________________________________________________.
2. What do the signs on the door do?
________________________________________________________.
3. People can communicate in many other ways, can't they?
________________________________________________________.
4. What can help us to communicate with others?
________________________________________________________.
5. What do they help us to do?
________________________________________________________.

     Children's school is changing very fast today. In the past, teachers 1. k______ children sitting still
for hours. They made them memorize 2. d______ kinds of things. In other 3. w______, the children had
to go on repeating things until they knew them"by heart". Today, many teachers want to know if it is 
4. p______ to make children learn at all. They say you can often help them learn. They say you must let
children and find out things for 5. t_____.
      But for these children, school is a kind of prison. They are there only because their 6. p_____ make
them go. They get out of the classroom as soon as the teacher lets them 7.  l______. Many of them want
to find work, but the law will not let them work 8. u______ they reach a certain 9. a______. And so, they
have to stay in school. Often they do not learn anything at all and 10. h______ every moment.
1.______ 2.______ 3.______ 4.______ 5.______
6.______ 7.______ 8.______ 9.______ 10.______

     Do you know why you sleep? You may think it's because you're tired. Or perhaps you've been told sleep
is good for you. Yet no one knows exactly why or how people sleep.
      Until the early 1950s, most scientists thought the body and brain rested during sleep. Then a scientist
watched people sleep. He noticed that during periods of between 5 and 30 minutes, sleepers' eyes made
rapid movements, as if they were watching something. He called these periods REM (Rapid Eye Movement)
sleep. He called periods when sleeper's eyes did not move non -REM sleep.
     Whenever the scientist woke people during REM sleep, they were having vivid dreams. Measurements
showed that sleepers' pulses (脉搏) went up quickly during REM sleep. Their breathing, heartbeat, and the
blood going to the brain also increased. Far from being a time of rest, sleep is a time when the body is hard
at work. Scientists still don't know the reason for this. Some believe REM sleep makes learning easier.
Babies spend a lot of time on REM sleep. Because of this, some scientists believe that REM sleep helps
the brain grow. Others think REM sleep is a time for the brain to empty the day's garbage.
      One thing all the scientists agree on is that sleep is necessary. Without enough sleep, people make
mistakes. Most car accidents happen during the early morning hours, when people are sleepiest.

1. You may read the passage in _____.

A. an advertisement
B. a history book
C. a science book
D. a telephone book

2. During REM sleep, a person's breathing and heartbeat _____.　

A. stop
B. increase
C. sleep
D. stay the same.

3. The underlined word "vivid" in the passage means _____.

A. 简单的
B. 空洞的
C. 生动的
D. 鲜艳的

4. What is the main idea of the article?

A. REM sleep has been observed by all scientists.
B. REM sleep helps the brain grow.
C. REM sleep is a time to empty the day's garbage.
D. REM sleep is an active time when the body is hard at work. 

5. We can know from the article that REM sleep ._____

A. has an effect on people.
B. can be stopped with lots of sleep.
C. is something that all people experience.
D. is something that all scientists agree on.

     New rules and behaviors standards (行为规范) for middle school students came out in March. Middle
school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only have
high marks. They will also be kids who don't dye (染) their hair, smoke or drink. The following are some
of the new rules.
     To tell the truth, have you ever copied someone else's work on an exam? Don't do it again! That's not
something an honest student should do. If you have played com-puter games for two hours in your room,
don't tell your parents you have done homework.
      Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird-Loving Month
in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate? You should join! In that way, you can learn more
about animals and how to protect them. When more people work to-gether, it makes it more fun for
everyone.
      Have you ever quarreled with your teammates when your basketball team lost? Only working together
can make your team stronger. Be friendly to the people you are with. Try to think of others, not only
yourself.
     Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? May-be you'll discover
Earth II someday. Don't look down on new ideas. Everyone's ideas are important. You should welcome
them, because new ideas make life better for everyone.
     Protect yourself. Has anyone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you.
If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
     Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the
Internet aren't for kids, so try to look at Web pages that are good for you. You can use the Web for fun
or homework. Can't you find any good Web sites for children? Here are some:
      http://www. eastday. com
      http://www. chinakids. net. com
      http://www. cycnet. Com

1. The school new rules will help kids by telling them _____.

A. how they can study well
B. what they should do at school
C. what is right and what is wrong
D. how they can protect themselves

2. According to the passage, which of the following is not true?

A. Take care of yourself when you are out.
B. Tell the truth, even when you are wrong.
C. Keep some animals to protect them.
D. Use the Internet, but keep away from bad things.

3. The main idea of the fourth paragraph is about _____.

A. making the team stronger
B. working together with others
C. being a good friend to others
D. getting on well with others

4. Good Web sites for children can _____.

A. be a waste of time
B. help them with their studies
C. do homework for them
D. make life easier

5. The passage tells us how to _____.

A. be top students
B. do more at school
C. care for others
D. use the Internet

     Today people can use the phone to 1. ______ with others almost anywhere on the earth. But when you 
use the phone, you don't see the 2.______ you are talking with. That may change in the near future.
     Today some people are using a kind of telephone 3. ______ the picture phone or vision phone. With it,
two people who are 4. ______ can see each other.
     Picture phones can be useful when you have 5. ______ to show the person you're calling. They may
have other uses in the 6. ______. One day you may be able to call up a library and ask to see a book.
Then you'll be able to 7. ______ the book, right over your picture phone. Or you may be able to go
shopping 8. ______ your picture phone. If you see something in the newspaper that you think you're
9. ______ in right over the phone. You'll be able to shop all over town and never even 10.______ your room.
1.______ 2.______ 3.______ 4.______ 5.______
6.______ 7.______ 8.______ 9.______ 10.______

     In learning English, one should first pay attention to listening and speaking. It is the groundwork (基础)
of reading and writing. You'd better try your best to speak while you do much listening. Don't be afraid of
making mistakes. But be careful not to let them stop you from improving your English. While you are doing
this, a good way is to write—keep a diary, write notes or letters, and then if you can, ask someone else to
go through (检查) what you have written and tell you what is wrong. Many mistakes in your speaking will
be easily found when you write. Through correcting the mistakes, you can do better in learning English.
     If you are slow in speaking, don't worry. One of the helpful ways is reading, either aloud or to yourself.
The important thing is to choose something interesting to read. It mustn't be too difficult for you. When you
are reading in this way, don't stop to look up the words if you can guess their meanings, or they have nothing
important to do with the sentence. You can look them up later.

1. For the beginners, listening and speaking is _____.

A. more important than reading and writing
B. not so important as reading and writing
C. as important as reading and writing
D. not so useful in learning English

2. When you are speaking, ______.

A. you shouldn't make any mistakes
B. you must speak slowly
C. it doesn't matter if you make any mistakes
D. you had better take a dictionary with you