Mr. Ellis is very old. He has seen many changes in his home town. 　　
     He knows that things are different now. But he never forgets the old days. He likes to talk about them. He
often talks about his favourite (最喜欢的) birds, the robins (一种小小鸟--鸫). "When I was a boy, these houses were not here. There were wide fields and tall trees. Every spring robins would come. Thousands of them
would fly up to the north from the south. They spent the winter in the south. Some would build their nests (巢)
in the trees near our houses. Then people started to cut down trees, and they built more houses. The robins
stopped coming. They couldn't build their nests near our houses because there were no trees." 　　
     "Now there are too many houses and too many roads. There are no places for the robins. They do come
any more (不再)."

1. Mr. Ellis often talks about _______. 　　

A. his old house
B. the old days 　　
C. his life now
D. his family

2. The birds, the robins, spent the winter in ________. 　　

A. the south
B. the west 　　
C. the north
D. the east

3. _______ built the nests in the trees. 　　

A. Mr. Ellis
B. Some people 　　
C. The robins
D. Some dogs

4. Then people ________ trees because they wanted to build more houses. 　　

A. cut down
B. planted
C. bought
D. watered

5. From the passage (短文) we can know that ________. 　　

A. Mr. Ellis likes his new life now 　　
B. there were many houses there in the old days 　　
C. the robins can make their nests without trees 　　
D. Mr. Ellis is not happy with the changes there

     What is the sky? Where is it? How high is it? What lies above it? These questions are difficult to answer,
aren't they?
     Is the sky blue? The sky has no colour. We know that there is air around the world. When the planes fly,
they need air to lift their wings. Planes can not fly very high because when they go higher, the air gets thinner (薄的). If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth. We find there is no air.
     Perhaps we can answer some of our questions now. The sky is space (太空). In the sky there is only the
son, the moon and all the stars.

1. What is the sky?

A. It's the clouds.
B. It's space.
C. It's air.
D. It's nothing.

2. The sky _______. 

A. is blue
B. is white
C. is black
D. has no colour

3. Planes can not fly very high because _______. 

A. the air becomes thinner.
B. the air becomes thicker.
C. the flying machine is not good.
D. the flying machine is bad.

4. If we go up about 1,200 kilometers from the earth, we find _______. 

A. there are more air
B. there is air
C. there is nothing but air
D. there is little air.

5. In space there is _______. 

A. nothing
B. air everywhere
C. anything
D. only the sun, the moon and all the stars.

March 24th
    This morning, we had a school trip to the Dashan Collection House, a building of two floors. It is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. We took the school bus and arrived at 9:00. When we entered the collection house, our eyes were caught by a collection of old photos of the town on the walls of the front hall. Those photos told us something about the history of the town. And then in the Art Room, we saw many pictures of the countryside. The colors of the flowers and trees are rich and bright. All at once, I lost myself in the beauty of nature.
    Then we went upstairs. On the left, there were over one hundred different clocks. The oldest clock was already more than two hundred years old. To my surprise, the clocks all worked well and they could tell the right time. It was then ten o'clock, and some clocks produced different beautiful sounds. It seemed to be a concert. How amazing!
    On the right there was also a stone collection. The stones were from all over the country. They were in different sizes, colors and shapes. Some looked like different kinds of animals. I really liked one stone that looked like a little monkey. It looked very nice.
    The collections there were wonderful. So they stayed there until 11:30 in the morning. I had a great time and really liked the school trip.

1. On which day did the writer have a school trip?
    On                       .
2. Where did the writer go for the school trip?
    The writer went to                                              .
3. What did the writer see in the Art Room?
    The writer saw                                                    .
4. How many kinds of collections are mentioned in the passage?
    There are        kinds..
5. How long did they stay there?
    For                                   .

    Have you ever tried the "Magic Cube"(魔方) ? Pick up one of these cubes and you probably won't be able to p_______ (1) it down. How hard can it be to rearrange the nine little s_______(2) on each side of the cube? In fact, there are millions of possibilities! It has been over 30 years since the cube first h_______(3) the market. However, not many people know that it was used just as a simple classroom m_______(4) at the beginning.
    In 1974, Mr. Erno Rubik i_______(5) the "Magic Cube" as he called it. He did this to help his students u_______(6) difficult 3D concepts(概念). This classroom example was quickly t_______(7) into a popular toy. In 1979, Ideal Toys started to sell it as "Rubik's Cube". The invention quickly became a 1980s c_______(8) icon.
     As time went by, the cube once l_______(9) its attractive qualities. However, it made a comeback with the internet. Now anyone can go online and find many videos that show ways to s_______(10) the cube. Erik Akkersdijk of the Netherlands holds the world record now. He finished in just 7.08 seconds!

　　Mr.  Smith never watched TV.  He thought that people spent too much time
watching it.  Some of his friends often talked about sports shows,  the movies and
plays. Mr. Smith said to himself,  "They never read any books or go out in the
evening. " So he didn't buy a TV.
　　Two years ago,  Mr. Smith was 60 years old.  He stopped working in the
hospital.  His son bought him a TV.  He began to watch all the news.  He knows
much more about the world now.  And he reads more books,  too.
　　Now,  Mr. Smith will get very unhappy if you trouble(打扰) him when he
is watching TV.  I can't know that one can change(改变) his idea when he is 60.

1. Mr. Smith didn't watch TV because _____.

A. he had no time to watch it
B. he thought it took (占用) people much time to watch TV
C. he couldn't buy the TV set
D. he thought watching TV is bad for people's eyes

2. Mr. Smith _____ when he worked in the hospital.

A. went to mountains
B. played sports    
C. read books  
D. watched TV

3. Mr Smith didn't work in the hospital _____.

A. after he was 60
B. before his son bought him a TV
C. when his son asked him not to work
D. after he liked watching the news

4. Mr. Smith is _____ now.

A. 58
B. 60
C. 62
D. 61

5. The black word "unhappy" means _____ in Chinese.

A. 很高兴
B. 很和蔼
C. 不高兴
D. 不理解

      When you stay away from your home for a long time, you start to miss your good old bed, your
 good old parents. Believe it or not, you're feeling homesick (想家的). You can help yourself to feel
 less homesick. Here's how:
      ●   1    If you're going away from home, bring your favourite pajamas (睡衣). You can also bring
 some pictures of the people who you may miss. You can look at them any time you want.
      ●   2    The busier you are, the less time you'll have to feel homesick. Spend your free time on music,
 sports or books. Try to join in activities wherever you are.
      ●   3    You can make a plan for when you'll call your mum or dad. You can also keep in touch with
 family and friends by emails or text messages.
      ●   4    Sometimes, telling someone that you're feeling a little homesick will help you feel better.
 Maybe you can tell a friend that you feel homesick and the two of you can do something fun.

从A、B、C、D中选择正确的选项作为文章第2-5段的小标题，并填入第1-4四个空格中。
1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____  
A. Keep yourself busy.
B. Tell someone your feelings.
C. Stay in touch.
D. Bring something familiar with you.

5. Which is the best title for the passage?

A. How to stay away from home
B. How to do something fun
C. How to feel less homesick
D. How to miss your home

1. It is a very common and necessary activity to _____________.
2. Knowing _____________ is important.
3. We should change _____________we speak when talking with different people.
4. The expressions you use might depend on ___________ you are speaking to or __________ you 
    know them.
5. If you stop a stranger in the street, we might first say "Excuse me. __________" or "I'm sorry to 
    trouble you but," before asking them for help.