Several days ago, some students from the US visited our school．When we talked, I discovered ___1___ differences in school life between the US and China．For example, each class ___2__ fifty minutes in the US．It is a little ___3___ than that in China．We usually have forty-five minutes in each class．Another difference is that they have less break time between ___4___．Besides, although most schools in both countries finish their __5__ classes at 12 o’clock, the students in the US only have an hour-long break, so they ___6__ eat lunch quickly．Their afternoon classes begin at 1:00 pm and school is over ___7__ 3:00 pm． Then they take part in club activities or play sports．

    Many Chinese students don’t work during their high school years, while the US students like to find a part-time job in __8__ free time．They don’t have a dream job in mind．They think __9___ is no difference between jobs．Working is a useful experience for them and they make money at the same time．Some of them even take one-year full-time jobs ___10___ they leave high school and then go to college．

1． A． no                     B． few                   C． little                  D． some

2． A． lasts                 B． finishes              C． starts                D． stays

3． A． shorter              B． longer                C． earlier                D． later

4． A． schools              B． classes               C． meals                D． students

5． A． day                 B． night                 C． morning             D． afternoon

6． A． can’t                B． mustn’t               C． need to              D． are able to

7． A． in                   B． for                  C． during              D． around

8． A． my                  B． his                   C． their                D． your

9． A． it                   B． there                 C． that                 D． this

10． A． after               B． with                 C． while                D． during

　　A shopping center is a place where many different shops and stores are collected under one roof. You can buy everything you want there, and there are also banks, restaurants and, sometimes, a post office.

　　There are other places in the United States which are called five-and-ten cent stores because they used to sells things for 5 to 10 cents. Today they sell almost anything and some of the things cost several dollars.

　　Supermarkets are found in all the cities. They sell food and many other goods. You walk aroud the supermarket, choose the things you want, put theminto a special basket prepared by the store and pay for them all together at the door. Supermarkets often stay open later than other stores.

　　Stores are usually open every day of the week except on Sundays. Some close on Saturdays in July and August.

(1) The shops and stores in a shopping center are ________.

[　　]

A．close to your house

B．on the top of a big roof

C．in the same building

D．near banks and restaurants

(2) A five-and-ten cent store usually sold ________.

[　　]

A．small and cheap things

B．expensive things

C．things worth a few dollars

D．everything you need in the house

(3) ________ have baskets ready for people to carry the things they are going to buy.

[　　]

A．Shopping centers

B．Supermarkets

C．Five-and-ten stores

D．Five stores in America

(4) Which of the following can be the topic of the article?

[　　]

A．What a shopping center is?

B．Why people like supermarkets?

C．Old and new stores

D．Three types of places shopping

(5) This article suggests that stores are close ________.

[　　]

A．from Monday to Friday

B．on Sundays

C．in July and August

D．on Saturdays

If you have a problem with speaking, you can do several things. Listen to English as much as possible. You can learn a poem(诗) or a song by heart. You can also learn more dialogues（对话）. And practice speaking with your friends as much as you can.
Many people find it difficult to listen to English. The answer is to listen as much as you can. However, don’t do too much at one time. It is better to practice listening for five minutes every day. Don’t sit down and listen for an hour at a time. That’s too much! Do choose listening passages that are interesting and not too difficult. Choose（选择） tapes（磁带） on which the people speak clearly and not too fast. Take it easy， at first. Success with simple tapes at the beginning is the answer. Later on you can practice with tapes that are more difficult.
Finally, how can you learn to write well? How do you use little words like in, on, of and for? There are two answers to this. First, do some study with new words. Keep a list of verbs like look for, look after and so on. Second, read as much English as possible. There are many things that can’t be learnt. You must see them in books many times. Then you’ll be able to use them correctly(正确地) yourself. So, in order to write well, you must first learn to read much.
【小题1】This passage is about English ______ .

A．spelling, listening, grammar and reading

B．listening, speaking, reading and writing

C．taking exams, pronunciation, reading and writing

D．pronunciation, reading, listening and writing

【小题2】If you ______ , you can speak well.

A．learn more dialogues	B．learn a poem or a song by heart
C．practice speaking with your friends as much as you can	D．all above

【小题3】Which of the following is right according to the passage?

A．It’s better to listen to English for a long time every day.

B．At the beginning, you’d better choose the tapes on which the people speak quickly.

C．At first you should begin with simple tapes for listening.

D．Few people think it hard to listen to English.

【小题4】Which of the following ways can help you to improve（提高） your written English? 
A. Buy books of writing practice.        B. Read as much as possible.
C. Do some study with new words.      D. Both B and C.
【小题5】Which of the following is not right according to the passage?

A．Many people find it difficult to listen to English.

B．Sit down and listen for an hour at a time.

C．Learn a poem or a song by heart can improve your speaking.

D．To improve speaking, you can practice speaking with your friends as much as you can.