I teach a bilingual kindergarten class. One Monday I noticed that two of my students, Juan and Cynthia, had a shared   35   on Friday of that week. I informed both their moms that they could bring in   36   to celebrate their children’s birthdays.

I wondered whether   37   intended（打算）to bring in a birthday treat for the kids. On Thursday, I asked Juan and Cynthia about it, but they didn’t know anything about their parents’ plans. Both children, however, were very excited about having a birthday party the next day in class. As I was tired after work, I decided to  38   it until the next day.

The next morning my first thought was: What should I do about the cakes? It would be terrible if there was nothing for the kids to eat at the party. It   39   me as I approached （接近）the Mexican bakery on my drive to school.

The shop had four large pieces of cake for a dollar each. The only thing was that I was   40  on cash. I needed the five dollars in my purse to  41   until payday. However, I decided the    42  was the most important.

The school day went well. After story time, I told the students, “Today we are celebrating the double birthdays of Juan and Cynthia.”

I brought out the cake and lit the candles, and then we sang Happy Birthday, Cynthia and Juan smiled happily. After the candles were blown out, I cut each of the four pieces of cake into five little pieces. It was just   43  , all 20 of my students had come to class that day.

At the end, Juan said to me, “Miss Jones, I never had a birthday party before!” As I watched him walk away, still   44  , tears came to my eyes. When Cynthia came up moments later, I asked her if she’d ever had a birthday party before.

“No”, she said, “but I loved my birthday today! Thank you, Miss Jones.”

I later learned, after talking with their parents, that our simple celebration had,    45   , been both Cynthia’s and Juan’s first birthday party. I had to   46   the last couple of days of that month on the one dollar ---- but it was certainly worth it!

This year, Sichuan schools decide to start morning classes an hour later. This will help students feel less tired. And most junior high schools will begin the first class at about 8:30 am.

The students are happy about the change.

Liu Ming told us that his class were excited by the news on the first day of school. “Great! From now on we students at Chengdu No. 4 Middle School don’t have to get up so early!” Liu said that he used to get up at 6:40 am. Now he can get up at 7:45 am because class doesn’t start until 8:40 am.

Wu Hongli feels the same. She said the new timetable (时间表) was good for her health . “I used to get up at 6:30 am. I had to drink coffee every night, or I would feel too sleepy to finish my homework,” said Wu. “Now I can finish it without coffee. Because I can sleep a little longer.”

Many teachers say the change will help students learn better. “Students used to doze (瞌睡) for the first two classes in the morning , ” said Huang Shan , an English teacher at Chengdu No . 12 Middle School. “But now they are active in class and learn much better than before.”

But some parents are worried that more sleep will mean less learning. There used to be five classes in the morning. Now there are only four.

In fact, every coin has two sides. So does the change in the school timetable.

1、This year , most Sichuan junior high schools will start the first class ______.

A、at about 8:30 a.m.                           B、at about 7:40 a.m.

C、at about 7:30 a.m.                           D、at about 6:40 a.m.

2、Hearing the news , the students at Chengdu No . 4 Middle School felt ______ .

A、worried            B、sad                C、excited            D、angry

3、How many classes are there in the morning in Chengdu schools now ?

A、Five          B、Four              C、Three                  D、Two

4、_____ used to drink coffee at night in order to finish homework .

A、Some parents B、Liu Ming         C、Wu Hongli       D、Huang Shan

5、Which is right according to the text ?

A、The students in Chengdu No . 12 Middle School used to doze for the first two classes in the morning.

B、All the parents say the change will help students learn better .

C、The students will have to get up one hour earlier than before .

D、Many teachers are worried that more sleep will mean less learning .