The group's song “If You're Gone” came out in 2000,and it's popular. Weeks ago, it was No. 4 on Billboard's Chart (流行音乐公告牌).

Lead singer Bob Thomas said that's what happens to a lot of their songs.

“They are never so popular when they come out. It's always like this and a year later I turn on the radio and I still hear it on the radio and I'm like. ‘Aw, this is great,’” Thomas said to a newspaper. “Then we get a call six months later saying that the song's starting to do really well.”

Thomas said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks(9 · 11事件)changed the way people listen to the radio.

“They want to hear about songs about feelings or they want to hear about songs that are just fun just because they're tired now,” he said．

1．From the reading we learn that Matchbox Twenty is ________. (　)

A．a popular song

B．a singer

C．a singing group

D．a song writer

2．“that's what happens to a lot of their songs”means ________. (　)

A．their songs are popular all the time

B．some of their songs don't do well at the beginning

C．a lot of their songs are not popular at all

D．something always happens to their songs

3．Bob Thomas ________. (　)

A．changed the way people listen to the radio

B．wrote a song for a newspaper

C．once said something to a newsreporter

D．came out to sing in 2000

4．Now songs about ________ are popular. (　)

A．the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks

B．people's feelings

C．the year of 2000

D．Billboard Chart

5．Which of the following is right? (　)

A．People don't like to listen to the radio now.

B．Songs that are just fun are welcomed now.

C．Popular songs all came out in 2000．

D．Bob Thomas also works at a newspaper.

You may know the song Happy Birthday very well．But do you know about its writer? It was written by an American girl．And she became very rich after that．

When she was a child，she was poor．Once，she was invited to her friend's birthday party．She was pleased but sad because she didn't have enough money to buy a gift for her．

“The party is coming soon，but now I have little money．” Tears ran down her face．

Later that night she was in bed，thinking about the gift when the door opened and her grandma came in．“What happened?” her grandma asked．Hearing the girl’s story，she said，“Don’t worry．I think I can help you．How about singing a song together? Happy birthday to．．．” What a beautiful song! They sang and sang．Suddenly she woke up．It was a dream! She decided to write it down at once and sing it to her friends at the party．

When she sang the song at the party the next day，her friends were very happy．“How wonderfully you sing! We haven’t heard such a beautiful song before．Thank you for giving me the special gift．”said her friend．And they learnt to sing it together．Later the girl became well-known in America．

1．The song Happy Birthday was written by ________．

A．an American girl                                      B．an American girl’s grandma

C．an American boy                                        D．an American girl’s friend

2．The girl was sad because ________．

A．she didn't want to go to the party                 B．she would be busy that day

C．she didn't have enough money to buy a gift   D．she wasn’t invited to the party’

3．What gift did she give her friend?

A．A flower．                                             B．A toy．

C．An interesting book．                                 D．A song．

4．What did her friends think of the song? It was ________．

A．boring                 B．beautiful               C．exciting                  D．interesting

5．Which of the following is TRUE?

A．The girl was still poor after writing the song．

B．The girl sang the song with her grandpa in her dream．

C．The girl's friends had heard the song before．

D．The girl became famous because of the song．

Summer holiday would begin at the weekend, so Bright Middle School decided to hold a school party on Friday evening. The girl students were talking about what they were going to wear.

“I’m going to wear a short red dress, so everybody will notice me,” said Sandy. “How about you, Susan?” “I’ll wear blue jeans, an old shirt, and a funny hat. People will notice me more than you!” Susan said.

“What are we going to do about the boys?” asked Vicky, “Do you remember the school party we had last year? The boys just stood there; nobody invited us to dance, and we girls had to dance by ourselves!” “I hear that some of the boys have learned how to dance in the past two or three months. I’m sure we can find our partners this time.” said Julia.

On Friday evening, at about seven, groups of students came into the activity hall of the school. Then the music began. The girls stood in a line on the side, and the boys on another side. Mrs. Mott, their teacher, tried to get them together, but failed. After a short while a tall boy called Joe said, “I don’t want to stand here for the whole night.” After finishing his words, he started to dance by himself. All the others watched him. In about two or three minutes, Susan came up to join him. Then Thomas asked Sandy if she’d like to dance with him. Next was Paul and Vicky. Then more and more people began to dance, and there were more dancers than watchers.

At about 8 o’clock, Vicky, holding a microphone in her hand, began to sing, “Should old acquaintance (朋友) be forgot and never brought to mind,…” Then Sandy came up with the song of My Heart Will Go On. Next was Julia’s singing of Yesterday Once More. The last song Right Here Waiting was sung by Paul. With the stop of the music at 9 o’clock, the party came to an end. The students really had a nice time at the end of the term.

1. The school party lasted about ________ hours.

      A. 1                 B. 2                C. 3                 D. 4

2. ________ was sung by Vicky.

  A. Right Here Waiting                      B. My Heart Will Go On

  C. Yesterday Once More                     D. Auld Lang Syne

3. When was the school party held?

  A. In July.                                 B. Just before the school began.

  C. On a Friday evening of January.             D. In Summer holiday.

4. Who danced with Joe first?

      A. sandy.             B. Vicky.             C. Julia.             D. Susan.

5. Who not only sang but also danced in the party?

      A. Paul, Sandy and Vicky.     B. Susan, Vicky and sandy.

      C. Julia, Vicky and Paul.     D. Joe, Sandy and Paul.

Teenagers can’t afford to buy expensive gifts. So what should you do if you want to give gifts to the important people in your life? In fact, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on holiday gifts.  There are many cheap ways to do that. Here are some make-it-yourself ideas for you to try.

To your mom and dad:

You can sing a song or write a letter to your mom and dad. You can also draw a picture for    53     if you like that better.

To your teacher:

Sometimes students put their pocket money together and buy the teacher a holiday gift. Some kids also give personal gifts.    54       You might even write down the favorite thing you’ve learned in the teacher’s class this year. 那会使老师感到高兴。

To the kids who need a friend:

THE holidays are a good time to think about people who are lonely. Maybe there is someone in your class who doesn’t seem to have

many friends. Try to do something for this person. It could be giving a Christmas card or just chatting with him or her. It’s a small thing, but it could mean a lot to someone who feels a little shy or sad at

school.

将画线的英语句子翻译成汉语，将汉语句子翻译成英语。

51.                         52.                        

53.为文章空白处选择合适的词汇。

A. they  B. their   C. them  D. themselves

54.为文章空白处选择合适的句子。

A. You can send a nice card with the words of thanks inside.

B. You can have a talk with teacher.

C. You can give the teacher’s child a gift.

D. You can go home without the teacher’s permission.

55.Who can you draw a picture for as a holiday gift?