There was a heavy snow last night. Maria stayed at home. Her cousin Cara came to visit her. She came back from Beijing. She told Maria something about her vacation. "It was pretty good. "She said. Cara visited the Palace Museum and the Great Wall. She took a lot of photos.
It was lunch time. Maria's parents were not at home. They decided to cook by themselves. Maria cooked noodles with some tomatoes and peppers(胡椒). After Cara ate up the noodles, she said slowly, "I think it is delicious!" But Maria thought the food was too awful. She said," Cara, thank you, but I put too many peppers!"
【小题1】—How was the weather? —It was      。

Maria lives in the beautiful countryside．She usually gets up early in the morning， 16  she’s never late for schoo1．After getting up，she often showers and has a good breakfast．Then she  17  for school at around 6：30．  18  her home is very far from school，she likes riding her bike better than  19 the bus．It takes her about an hour   20  her bike．It’s so long! On the way，she sings and sings so she always feels  21 ．Also she thinks that it’s good for her health   22  to school by bike．
After school she usually goes back   23  with her friend，Linda．Linda’s home is nearer than Maria’s． It’s only three miles from her home   24  schoo1．Linda likes riding，too．And she also thinks that it is a good  25 of transportation．

Dear Reader,

Imagine an 11-year old girl whose days are often spent washing clothes, looking after a baby, working hard in the field.

Imagine a little girl who knows there will not be enough food for dinner, who can’t fill her stomach with water because it’s polluted, and who has watched life slip away from her father, little brother and sister because the family is too poor to see a doctor.

Is it hard to believe? For Maria Pastora, these are the real life.

Maria would gladly walk miles to school, but her mother, now alone, needs her badly at home. If Maria grows up without any schooling, what will be her future?

But for just 52 pennies a day, you can sponsor a child like Maria. Through “Save the Children”, you can help Maria’s mother get the tools and ways she needs to turn their poor food into a good dinner and the money she needs to buy clothes and school things for Maria.

To help Maria most, your money is put together with that of other sponsors, so hard-working people can help themselves. Build a school, a hospital…bring in clean water. This is what “Save the Children” has been about since 1932.

For you there are many rewards. Have the chance to write to or hear from your sponsored child. Receive photos or progress reports. Know you are reaching out to another person. Not with a handout(施舍物), but a “handup”. That’s how “Save the Children” works. But without you, it can’t work. Please take a moment now to fill in and post the form below to help a child like Maria and her village.

It can make such a difference in her life and yours.

1.We can most probably read the letter in __________.

A．somebody’s diary                      B．a newspaper

C．a progress report                       D．a storybook

2.From the passage, we can infer （推断）that _________

A．Maria is an 11-year-old girl.

B．Maria’s family is very poor.

C．Maria has to do a lot of hard work.

D．Maria is hoping to get schooling.

3.What is “Save the Children”?

A．An organization to help poor children go to school.

B．An office of the government to collect money.

C．A program shown at theatres to help the poor.

D．A group who works for children in poor places.

4.The underlined word “sponsor” means “__________” in Chinese.

A．回报             B．资助　　　　　    C．感恩　　　　      D．抢救

5.What does the last sentence in the letter mean?

A．If Maria goes to school, you will be rewarded.

B．What you give is more than what you take.

C．Both Maria’s life and yours will change a lot.

D．Marie and you can help each other at school.

— Is this ________ bike?
— No, it’s not ________. It’s ________.
A. your; my; Maria’s
B. yours; mine; Maria
C. your; mine; Maria’s