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　　You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it－those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mother’s Day．But there’s more to the story．

　　The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations were held during spring in ancient Greece．The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the gods．During the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday．On this day even servants were given the day off to spend with their families．A mothering cake was even served with the family meal．

　　In the US, Mother’s Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace．But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis stared a campaign to honor mothers．She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil

　　War．The US isn’t alone in devoting a day to mothers．Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also honor their mothers in May．Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year．

　　Learning more about Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s Day are important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you．And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day in a year．

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　　Global warming is the process of earth’s atmosphere heating up．Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of earth’s atmosphere has gone up 1 Fahrenheit．The weather has not changed exactly the same way in every area of the planet．But scientists think that the rise in average temperature is already affecting the earth’s climate．

　　Many scientists now believe that global warming is caused by cutting down trees, producing more trash, and polluting the environment which are some of the reasons why the temperature has gone up．Many scientists believe that the biggest causes of global warming are new human technologies that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere．

　　The greenhouse effect is not new．Certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane, making it hard for heat energy to go into space．In the past, the climate didn’t change much because nature produced just the right amount of greenhouse gases to deal with it．

　　Today, most scientists are pretty sure that the rising temperature can’t be blamed on nature．Ever since the industrial revolution in the 1700s, humans have relied on machines for daily life．And many of those machines give off a lot of greenhouse gases．An increase in the release of greenhouse gases from human activities is throwing nature off balance．

　　The climate is a very complicated thing, but many scientists agree that the rising atmospheric temperature has already damaged the environment．Sheets of ice, called glaciers, are melting in Antarctica and other parts of the globe．As glaciers break off and melt into the oceans, they are adding warm water to the oceans and causing the sea level to rise．

　　Over the past 100 years, the sea level has risen 6-8 inches around the world．That means land along the coasts is beginning to disappear under water．Bigger and warmer oceans are also adding to other weather problems caused by pollution in the atmosphere．Some places have received more rain, others have had bigger storms and a few areas in the world have experienced unusual droughts．

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　　“Hey, Jenna, do you think we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two?” I asked my friend．It was clear that she was wondering where I had come up with such a question．Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister．We hung out together．We gave each other advice．

　　“Of course, we’ll still be friends when we’re eighty-two．” Jenna announced loudly．

　　The next year, in the fourth grade, we met Jamie．The three of us soon became close friends．We played together almost every day．I thought even time couldn’t pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken．

　　The three of us started fighting a lot．Before Christmas, we had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy．I felt helpless and lonely．I thought Christmas would be horrible!

　　I was surprised when Jenna came to my house and gave me an awesome Christmas card she had made for me．I was so sure that she was still disappointed with me．

　　“Wow, ” I said, breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door．“Thanks．”

　　“Okay…well…I have to go,” she said softly．

　　“Okay．See you later then…” and I closed the door．

　　“Who was that at the door?” my mum asked．

　　The card started off with “Merry Christmas”, but then it said, “I am so glad we’re friends．I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting．A fight won’t stop us from being friends．Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we’re eight-two．”

　　I stopped reading and started laughing．I couldn’t believe I had forgotten what she said that day in her back yard．I couldn’t believe I had been so selfish in trying to get even and making my friends feel sorry for me that I had forgotten about real friendship．

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　　Most people want to be happy, but few know how to find happiness．Money and success alone do not bring lasting happiness．Aristotle, a Greek thinker, said, “ Happiness depends upon ourselves．” In other words, we make our own happiness．Here are a few suggestions to help you be happier．

　　The first secret of happiness is to enjoy the simple things in life．Too often, we spend so much time thinking about future – for example, getting into college or getting a good job – that we fail to enjoy the present．You should enjoy life’s simple pleasures, such as reading a good book, listening to your favorite music, or spending time with close friends．People who have several close friends often live happier and healthier lives．

　　Another secret to living a happy life is to be active, and have hobbies where you forget your problems and time．Many people experience this dancing, or playing a sport, such as swimming．You can forget about your problems, and only think about the activity．Finally, many people find happiness in helping others．Studies show that people feel good when they spend their time helping others．If you want to feel happier, do good things for someone．You can help a friend with his or her studies, go shopping to buy food for an elderly person, or simply help out around the house by washing the dishes．

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　　If you are above the age of 40 then there are chances you would not know much about Snap Music．But if that is the case, then ask your daughter or son, and perhaps, they’d even perform it for you．Indeed, Snap Music is one of the cool hip hop rap styles that support hip hop music．In simple words, Snap Music is the music to which you “snap(捻着手指发劈啪声)your fingers and move with the rhythm．This may seem relatively easy, but sure enough, it has its share of uniqueness which makes it stand apart．

　　The theoretical and technical characteristics of Snap Music are slow-paced beats, regular and timed snapping of fingers, which created pleasing rhythms．Often as rappers rap, they get the audience clapping or snapping along with them．

　　Snap Music was from Atlanta．It gradually made its way to the other parts of America．It is generally believed that Snap was inspired by Crunk Music and it is Atlanta’s Crunk style．But they are quite different．While Crunk has high energy, Snap has an unhurried feel to it．An occasional whistle or a polyrhythmic(多节奏的)combination can he heard; this is done to improve the feeling of the music．It is also said that the music was made for the club-crowd and at first was meant for dance lovers; but as the form developed, it turned out to be rather slow．

　　There is a wide audience for this type of music．Here, this type of hip hop music is often simple with not much depth or story．But then again, how many rap songs have depths and story these days? So, if you are a teenager or a young adult, you might just enjoy the change that Snap offers．

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　　My son was a second-grader．He went to school by bus every day．He was the first student on in the morning, as we were farthest from school, and the last student off in the evening．I was a teacher myself and it was a comfort to realize the school staff were all working as hard as I was to provide a safe learning environment．

　　One day I came home from work and waited for my son to get home for a long time．Then I called the school．“ perhaps he’s just a bit late,” said the secretary．“ I will call the driver to see if those children are home．” A few minutes later, I answered the phone to hear that the other students were home．Then I called his friends’ parents, to see if perhaps he had gotten off at their stop to play．The answers were all “No”

　　By that time, it was dark and I was scared．My home was in the mountain areas．My husband wasn’t at home, so I forced myself to calm down and decided to go out to look for him．I was about to go out when the telephone rang; it was from the driver．“He’s okay．” I heard．“ He was asleep on the seats in the dark, under a couple of jackets．Since it’s dark, can he spend the night with my family?”

　　I was relieved and agreed．Since my son had a great adventure, the school started giving a copy of the list to the driver, so he could check off the children’s names when they got off the bus．I think highly of the school for taking the cautionary(警戒的)step ahead; it is a sign of their concern for students, parents, and staff．

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　　Henry works in a factory．He comes from a poor family and was in school for only four years．He has to do the hard work, but he is paid less．He likes to watch football matches very much and spends much time on them．

　　One afternoon there was a big football match on the playground．He borrowed some money from his friend and hurried there．There were a lot of people there．And all the tickets were sold out．He was sorry for it．He saw a pole outside the playground and climbed it quickly．A policeman came and said, “It is dangerous to stay on it! Come down!”

　　“Wait a minute, please!” Henry said and just at that moment the policeman heard cheers on the playground and asked in a hurry, “which team has kicked a goal?” “ours!” “wonderful! You can stay there．But take care!” The policeman said happily and left．When the match would be soon over, he came back again and asked, “who has won?” “Theirs, 3∶2” “Come down,” the policeman said angrily．“Such a match is not worth watching!”

　　Henry had to come down．But soon they heard cheers again．The policeman said in a hurry, “Climb up quickly and see who has kicked a goal．”

阅读理解

　　Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors．I feel there are a number of reasons for this．

　　Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded(包围)by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices．This has turned out a whole generation of grown-ups who seldom cook a meal for themselves．If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food．

　　There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight．I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops．If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives．

　　There is a third reason for this situation．Children these days take very little exercise．They do not walk to school．When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games．Not only is this an unhealthy pastime(消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food．What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports．

　　The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits．

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　　When Ben Franklin was only a boy, he always wanted to know about things．He was always asking his father and brothers “What?” and “How?” and “Why?”

　　They couldn’t always tell him what he wanted to know．

　　When they couldn’t tell him, Ben tried to find out for himself．

　　Many times Ben did find out things that no one knew before．The other boys would say, “That Ben Franklin! He’s always finding out something new!”

　　Ben lived close to the water．He liked to go there to see the boats．He saw how the wind blew them across the water．

　　One day Ben said to himself, “Why can’t the wind help me float across the water? And I’m going to try．” Ben got his big kite．He took hold of the kite string and ran with it．The wind took the kite up into the air．Then Ben jumped into the water．

　　The wind blew the kite high into the air．Ben began to float across the water．Soon he was on the other side, and he had not worked at all．

　　One boy shouted, “Look at Ben floating across the water! His kite takes him to the other side without any work!”

　　“Yes,” said another．“He’s always finding new ways to do things．”

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　　Sudan is a rather large nation in the northeastern part of Africa．It has about twenty million people．It also has a short coastline along the Red Sea．Some northern areas of the country have deserts while the southern part has tropical(热带的)rain forest．

　　Their capital city is Khartoum．At Khartoum the Blue Nile and the White Nile come together to form the Nile River, which is the world’s longest river．Khartoum has about four hundred and seventy thousand people．

　　There are two groups of people who live in Sudan．In the northern part of the country, there are many Arabic-speaking Muslims．They make up about two-thirds of the total population．In the southern area, there are groups of people who speak African languages．

　　The northern and southern areas also have different histories．People in the south lived by themselves for many years．However, the northern area was controlled by foreigners for several centuries．After the World War II, Sudan became completely independent．