阅读短文，然后用括号中所给词的适当形式填空。

It is Spring Festival time. It’s a1.   (fun) time to be with our family. What are you going to do? Let’s have a look at the Spring Festival and its fun activities.

The date of the Spring Festival always2.( change). Usually the date falls between the end of January and February 19. This year it falls on February 10. But the celebration3.(usual) starts one week before Spring Festival Eve.

Xiaonian: We usually clean4.(house) on this day. By5.(clean) , we can sweep bad luck away. Another thing we do is decorating our homes with spring couples (春联), paper-cuttings and the upside-down “fu” character.

Did you know all about “nian”? A long time ago, a monster (怪物) called Nian ate people on Spring Festival Eve. But Nian was afraid of loud noises, the color red and fire. So people6.(play) drums and gongs (锣) and set off fireworks. It scared Nian.

From then on, on Spring Festival Eve, people play drums and gongs, set off fireworks and put up red lanterns. We welcome the new year.

 

Like schools in China, American schools begin in September after a long summer vacation. The first term is from September to January and the second is from February to June. Usually American children begin to go to school when they are five years old. Most students are seventeen or eighteen years old when they finish high school.

But unlike middle school students in China, high school students in America take only four or five subjects each term. They usually go to the same classes every day and have homework for every class. After class they do all kinds of interesting things.

After high school, many students go to college. They may go to a small or a large one. They usually have to pay a lot for their higher education. So lots of students work after school to make money for their studies.

1.In America, summer vacation lasts（持续）___________________.

A．one month                            B．two months

C．three months                          D．more than three months

2.The underlined（下划线的）word “college” means _________________ in Chinese.

A．大学             B．公司             C．研究院           D．高中

3.Many American students work after class, because they ___________________.

A．want to see interesting things

B．have to help the other people

C．want to make more friends

D．have to get money for their studies

 

Farmer Ed Rawlings smiles as he looks at his orange trees. The young oranges are growing well in Florida’s weather. Warm sunshine and gentle rains, along with Ed Rawlings’ expert care, will produce a good crop（收成）of oranges this year.
However, Ed has to guard against Florida’s changeable winter weather. In January and February, temperatures can destroy Ed’s entire orange crop. Having farmed in Florida for the past 35 years, Ed is prepared for the frost(霜). When temperatures drop below freezing, Ed tries to save his crop by watering his orange trees. The water freezes and forms a thin layer(层) of ice around the trees. Strange as it may sound, this thin layer of ice actually keeps the fruit warm.
What happens is simple. When the trees are watered, the water loses heat and becomes ice. The warmth of the heat it loses is taken in by the fruit and keeps its temperature at a safe level. Ed has effectively used this method to save many orange crops.
But Ed still faces difficulties. The trees must be watered at the exact moment the temperature drops to the freezing point. Also, just the right quantity(数量)of water must be used. Too much water can form a thicker layer of ice that will break the tree’s branches(树枝). Another difficulty is that wind blows away the heat, so Ed has to worry about not only when but also how often his trees should be watered, and how much water should be used.
Computer technology may help Ed with some of these worries. With equipment(设备), air and soil temperatures and wind speed can be measured. The information is fed into a computer which can calculate(计算) when the temperature will drop below freezing. The computer can correctly decide the quantity of water to be used and how frequently(  ) the trees should be watered. Ed finds looking after his orange trees a lot easier with the help of a computer, and, his customers will have the benefits(利益) of computer—age oranges. 
【小题1】The passage is mainly about______.

A．a farmer expert cares for his orange trees

B．the different uses of computers

C．growing oranges in Florida’s changeable weather

D．different ways of frost protection

【小题2】Ed tries to protect his crop by______.

A．using a wind machine to drive away the cold air

B．equipping his orange trees with a computer

C．watering it at the proper time

D．picking his fruit at the first sign of frost

【小题3】 According to the passage, the computer technology______.

A．removes the need for frost protection

B．prevents temperature from dropping

C．tells farmers why outdoor temperatures change

D．helps the farmer get a better harvest

Like schools in China, American schools begin in September after a long summer vacation. There are two terms in a school year. The first term is from September to January and the second is from February to June. Usually American children begin to go to school when they are five years old. Most students are seventeen or eighteen years old when they finish high school.

But unlike middle school students in China, high school students in America take only four or five subjects each term. They usually go to the same classes every day and have homework for every class. After class they do all kinds of interesting things.

After high school, many students go to college. They may go to a small or a large one. They usually have to pay a lot for their higher education. So lots of students work after school to make money for their studies.

根据短文内容，选择最佳答案：

1. In America, summer vacation lasts ____.

A. one month             B. two months 

C. three months           D. more than three months

2.Students only stay at school for about ____ years before they go to college.

A. five         B. six        C. twelve        D. fourteen

3. The underline word “vacation” means _________ in Chinese.

A. 休闲        B. 假期      C. 时光      D. 生活

4. Many American students work after class, because they _____.

A. want to see interesting things       

B. have to help the other people

C. want to make more friends  

D. have to get money for their studies

5.The article is mainly about ___________.

A. the differences between schools in China and in America.      

B. schools in China.

C. schools in America.  

D. American students’ school life.

 

How can we help the people who are not as l___1.____ as us? There are lots of things we can do.

A snowstorm hit much of south china one January. And the disaster caused a great l____2.____. Many houses were destroyed and thousands of people became h__3.____. The government did a lot for them. And so did many charities. Millions of people, both young and o___4.___, donated money and clothes to charities.

In fact, we can also do lots of things in our everyday l___5._____. For example, we can help a b___6.____ people cross the road. It won’t cost anything. I have a cousin she often helps the d___7.__ children to dance to gestures (手势). Both the children and she h__8.____ enjoy it. I think she is doing a great j__9._____. She says she gets a lot from others, and she can pay back by helping those who need help.

She is right. Everybody can do something for others. And if you feel you’re needed b___10.____ others, you will feel happy.