Hands play an important part in our daily life. But do you know which of your two hands you use more? Very few people use both hands equally well.  Most of us are right-handed.  Only about five people out of a hundred are left-handed.  New-born babies can take hold of things with either of their hands, but in about two years they usually use their right hands.  Scientists don’t know why this happens.
Monkeys are our close relatives in the animal world. Scientists have found that monkeys like to use one of their hands more than the other, but it can be either hand.  There are as many right-handed monkeys as left-handed ones.  Next time you visit a zoo, watch the monkeys carefully, you will see that some of them will use their right hands and others will use their left hands.  But most of the people use their right hands better and this makes life difficult for those left-handed people.  We live in a right-handed world. 
【小题1】How many people among 100 people use their left hands better?
A. 5%.     B. 50%.     C. 95%. 
【小题2】What’s the meaning of the underlined word “equally” in Chinese?
A. 公正地    B. 均等地    C. 平凡地
【小题3】New-born babies can use  ____  ____ __. 
A.  both of their hands    B.  neither of their hands    C.  their right hands
【小题4】Which of the following is true?
A.  There are more monkeys using their right hands than left hands. 
B.  There are more monkeys using their left hands than right hands. 
C.  There are as many right-handed monkeys as left-handed ones. 
【小题5】“We live in a right-handed world. ”means ____ ____ __. 
A.  Most people use their right hands better. 
B.  Few people use their right hands better. 
C.  Half of the people use their right hands better. 

A young girl sits at her desk, reviewing her homework for the evening. English: Read three chapters and write a report. Math: Complete 30 problems. Science: Do a worksheet, front and back. French: (A) Study new words for tomorrow’s test. It’s going to be a long night.
This happens to students in America. Now it’s time to start a homework revolution(变革).
Do students in the United States receive too much homework? According to the National Education Association, a student should be assigned (布置) no more than 10 minutes per grade level per night. For example, a first grader should only have 10 minutes of homework, a (B)  grader, 20 minutes, and so on. This means that a student in my grade—seventh—should have no more than 70 minutes of work (C) each night. Yet this is often doubled, sometimes even worse!
It’s no good giving students too much homework. According to research, kids are developing more illness at school, such as stomachaches, headaches and sleep problems than before.
Everybody (D)  that teachers are the ones who assign homework, but they are not the only ones to blame (受责备). “Many teachers are under greater pressure (压力) than ever before,” says Kylene Beers, President of the National Council for teachers of English, “Some of  (E) it comes from parents, some from the wish for high scores on tests.” Teachers who are under pressure feel the need to assign more homework.
Some people have different ideas, saying that homework prepares kids for doing better in high school, better in college, and (F) 今后找到更好的工作. But too much homework is sapping students’ strength, curiosity（削弱学生的个性和好奇心), and most importantly, their love of learning, is that really what teachers and parents want?
【小题1】写出文中划线部分（A）和（C）的同义词或近义词:                         
【小题2】在文中（B）和（D）的空白处分别填入适当单词:                         
【小题3】文中划线部分（E）指代的是:               
【小题4】将文中划线部分（F）译成汉语:             
【小题5】从文中找出能说明本文主旨大意的中心词:           

1 

阅读下面的短文，根据短文中的信息完成文后的表格（每空一词）

Do you know how to keep fish at home?

The fish need room(空间). They must not be crowded（拥挤）. Fish need oxygen(氧气). Fish get it from water in the tank. There must be enough water for all fish in the tank. So the size of the tank is important..

In the tank many people put small plants. They give oxygen to the water. Plants help in other ways, too. Fish can nibble(轻咬)on the plants. They hide in the plants and sleep, lay eggs there.

Both the plants and fish need light. You can put it near a window. It will get light there. But remember: a window may let cold air in. The cold can kill(杀死) your fish. Too hot water can kill your fish, too.

The fish need food and you should feed them every day. Giving them too much food is bad. It will make the water dirty. However, the fish should get just enough food. They should finish the food in 10 minutes. No extra(多余) is left. When this happens, the amount(数量)of food is right.

How to keep fish at home

My name is Ben Mansury. I’m fifteen years old and study in a middle school. In school, I never join in any group discussion or stage (舞台) program. So, I never knew what stage nervousness was.
Our community (社区) has a weekly “Students Ideas” program. About two years ago, I received a(n)   1   from the chairman of our community. He invited me to the “Students Ideas” talk the next morning to speak to the group.
The time between his call to the next morning was like several weeks for me. The whole night, I could not sleep. Many   2   were coming. One of them was to call the chairman, with regret, and tell him that I could not come. But finally, I thought, if I missed this   3  , the community would never invite me again to any of their programs. So, I decided to go.
I reached the hall in time. When my turn came and I started, my heartbeat increased and my mouth went dry. I wasn’t even able to   4   the words on the paper properly. I had no idea where I was standing and what I was talking. That was the day when I   5   my biggest weakness: public speaking.
After I finished, I met with the chairman and   6   what happened to me. He said that this happens to everyone. It is very   7  . He suggested that I should come again the next week.
I   8   a talk carefully. This time when I gave the talk, I was somewhat comfortable but not confident (自信的). Afterwards, I met with the chairman again and told him about the improvement I   9   I had made. He was kind enough to invite me again.
For around one month, I practiced a lot for my talk. This time I was feeling comfortable and both the chairman and my neighbors thought I did a good job.    
I learned that everything is   10   if we take the first step, as the saying goes: A journey of thousand miles begins with first step.

It can be dangerous to travel by sea. Ships sometimes sink(下沉) far away from land. When this happens, the sailors(海员) have to get into small boats. If another ship does not come and help them and they do not have enough food or water, they will die.

Most people believe we must not drink sea water. They believe that if we do, we shall be very ill because of all the salt in the water. A doctor called Alain Bombard did not believe this. He thought that people could stay alive by drinking sea water and eating small fish, animals and plants from the sea. On 19 October 1953, he set out in a small boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean(大西洋). He did not take any food or water with him.

Every day Dr. Bombard drank just a little sea water. He also caught fish and they had water in them. He drank this water. He could not cook the fish, so he ate them as they were. He took small plants from the sea, which gave him more food.

Dr. Bombard became hot, tired and quite ill, but after 65days at sea he was still alive. He traveled 2,750 miles from one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other, and on 24th,December 1953, he reached Barbados.

He lost 20 kilos, but he showed that people could live on sea water, the animals and plants in the sea.

1.Alain Bombard was ______.

2.He wanted to show that _____.

3.He went across ______.

4. Dr. Bombard lived on ______.

5.The story is about _____.