Americans spend their weekends in different ways．But usually they choose to rest, to enjoy beautiful places and to enjoy the time with their family and friends．

     Some Americans hold parties on Saturday night．They will dance, sing and drink together till midnight．Then they won' t get up until 9, I0 or even 11 o' dock next morning．

After they get up, they will buy the daily newspaper （日报）．They can get news about films, plays, shows and sports in the paper．It will help them decide what to do on Sunday afternoon．

     Before going out on Sunday, they will have a meal, which is called “brunch” —“br”from  “breakfast” and “unch” from “lunch”．They will make it at home or go to a restaurant．After brunch some Americans may have a picnic with their family or friends．Usually they drive to a beautiful park, a lake or the seaside．

     The Sunday dinner is the most important meal of a week．It is the biggest meal of the week and all family members try to be present （出席）．

1．Do Americans spend their weekends in one way?

     A．Yes, they do．       B．No, they don' t．   C．We don' t know．   D．That' s OK．

2．What do some Americans do for Saturday parties?

      A．dance               B．sing                 C．drink                D．All of them

3．Americans buy the daily newspaper on Sunday to help them__________________．

      A．decide what to do on Sunday afternoon.．

     B．decide what to eat on Sunday afternoon．

     C．decide what to buy on Sunday afternoon．

     D．learn new knowledge

4．Before going out on Sunday, they will have a meal, which is called________________．

      A．breakfast          B．lunch              C．brunch             D．dinner

5．________is the most important meal of a week．

     A．The brunch                                       B．The picnic

     C．The sunday lunch                                  D．The sunday dinner

During my childhood in the 1960s, my parents were always busy with work and meetings. They left early in the morning and came back late in the evening. My sisters, my brother and I were left alone with Grandma. We saw our parents only on Sundays and during the few holidays. The only long period （一段）of time during which the whole family could be together once a year was the Spring Festival. We missed our parents badly, but didn’t say so because we had been told that hard work was everyone’s duty and that we could not have our own small family without a big family.　　  Later I was a hard working student and, during summer or winter holidays, often stayed alone at university to have more time to study. I was always encouraged by my parents, for whom the holiday was less important than “work” and “study”. Holidays were a waste of time and I felt as if I had done something wrong if I took a holiday or did nothing during a holiday.

I spent the most difficult period of my life abroad. But when I joined this company, my boss didn’t seem to think it right for me to work like that. When I called him at home after office hours for business purposes （目的）, he politely told me that he preferred talking about work with me in the office.

When the holiday season came near, he asked me to plan my leave beforehand （提前）. He talked with me about his holiday and also asked about mine. For him, leave was a right.　　  Giving up a holiday for the company is encouraged in China, but is foolish here. I began to think about holidays.

Today my parents are retired （退休）and stay home with a lot of time for their children. But we are all grown- up and live far away. We miss each other, but we cannot afford to see each other very much and they often feel sorry for the fact that they were too busy to be able to take care of us when we were young.

Nowadays, Chinese take long weekends and have paid holidays. But do they use their holidays to enjoy family life? I hope so because my experience in China and Europe has helped me understand that work is not my whole life and that a family is also very important. I do not want to feel sorry in the future as my parents do and I certainly spend as much time with my son as possible. There is nothing wrong with either working hard or taking holidays, but we shouldn’t have one instead of the other. It is important to keep a balance （平衡）between work and play.   

1. What do the underlined words “paid leave” mean?

A. You have to pay when you take a holiday.　　 

B. Someone will pay for your holiday.　　 

C. You are still paid when you have your holiday.　　

D. You can’t leave until you pay for the holiday.   

2. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. Working is the only part of the life.      

B. Traveling is the best way to spend your holiday.　　 

C. Enjoying holidays is as important as working　　 

D. Sharing happiness with your family is more important   

3. The writer talks about her own experience because she hopes that the Chinese will _______.　　  A. plan their holiday beforehand　　  B. get used to long holidays and enjoy themselves　　  C. give up a holiday for their work　　   D. bring business home after work hours

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today's Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.
According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of study.
And this isn't only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45 am on Saturday. Then she has a whole day of classes. On Sunday, she goes to extra classes for math and physics.
But Ji doesn't complain. She says her classmates all work very hard.
Finding time to have fun

Zhao Yang, 13, is from Dalian, Liaoning. As a Grade 8 student, Zhao's weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. "I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like," he said.
Some students are much luckier. They don't have to go to school on the weekend.
Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. And she's a top student.
During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8 am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV.
Ding said her mother once wanted her to try extra classes. But when they asked Ding's teacher about it, the teacher said it was unnecessary.
"My teacher said I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough," Ding said. "I feel pretty lucky."
【小题1】Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours sleep each night because of ___________.

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today's Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.

According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of study.

And this isn't only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45 am on Saturday. Then she has a whole day of classes. On Sunday, she goes to extra classes for math and physics.

But Ji doesn't complain. She says her classmates all work very hard.

Finding time to have fun

Zhao Yang, 13, is from Dalian, Liaoning. As a Grade 8 student, Zhao's weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. "I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like," he said.

Some students are much luckier. They don't have to go to school on the weekend.

Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. And she's a top student.

During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8 am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV.

Ding said her mother once wanted her to try extra classes. But when they asked Ding's teacher about it, the teacher said it was unnecessary.

"My teacher said I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough," Ding said. "I feel pretty lucky."

1.Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours sleep each night because of ___________.

A．playing computer games

B．playing with friends

C．busy study

D．watching TV

2.How many students are mentioned in this passage?

A．2.               B．3.                C．4.               D．5.

3.We can learn from the passage that ___________.

A．Some middle school students can enjoy their weekend.

B．All the students in China are busy studying on the weekend.

C．Every student in China has to go to extra classes on the weekend.

D．All the students complain about their busy weekend.

4.The above text may be a _______.

A．a story of science                       B．school notice

C．short play                             D．news report