For many school in Thailand, there are two terms. The first term is from the first week of May to the first week of October. The second term starts from the first week of November and finishes at the last week of February or the first week of March. The students don't get a break for Christmas（圣诞节）. But they get a 3-4 days' break for the New Year.
For many students, a school day is very long. They usually get to school at 7:30 a.m. Classes begin at 8:00 a.m. there are three classes in the morning and they are 50 minutes each（每个）. Students have lunch at 11:00 a.m. they don't have dining halls so they have to eat in the classroom. Lunch time finishes at 12:25 p.m. there are three classes in the afternoon. School finishes at 3:15 p.m. many schools have a "homework" lesson after school, so students usually go home after 4:45 p.m.
【小题1】How long is the first term in Thailand schools?

A．For six months.

B．For five months.

C．For four months.

D．For three moths.

【小题2】What does the underlined word "break" mean in Chinese?

A．假期

B．节目

C．游览

D．计划

【小题3】When do students usually get to school?

A．At 7:00 a.m.

B．At 7:30 a.m.

C．At 8:00 a.m.

D．At 8:30 a.m.

【小题4】Why do students have to eat lunch in the classroom?

A．Because their dining halls are very small.

B．Because they must do their homework after lunch.

C．Because they don't have dining halls.

D．Because they bring lunch to school.

【小题5】What can we learn from the passage?

A．There are three terms in Thailand schools.

B．Students don't go to school in November.

C．Students usually go home at 3:15 p.m.

D．Students have six classes a day.

Do you have any foreign friends? Do you know their characteristics(特征)?
The Germans are very quiet and they always keep calm. They don’t like to speak more words. They look very serious. They like different kinds of amusements. The Germans are very hard—working. They like tidiness, especially the women, who always keep their home clean.
In some ways, the Englishmen look the same as the Germans. They are very quiet and never talk too much with the strangers. They are really polite, so we often hear they say “Thank you.” Or “Sorry.” The gentlemen are also the Englishmen.
The French’s holidays are very long. They like traveling and usually spend their long time staying in other countries. The Frenchmen are more outgoing than the Germans. It is very easy to make friends with them.
Compared to the Frenchmen, the Americans are more outgoing. And they are even opener than all of the Europeans. They don’t like to depend on others. So it is very common that the students do part-time jobs in their free time. And in Americans’ eyes, success is an important part in their life.
【小题1】According to the passage, ______are very quiet.

A．only the Germans

B．only the Englishmen

C．only the Frenchmen

D．both the Germans and the Englishmen

【小题2】What does the underlined word “tidiness” mean in Chinese?

A．整洁

B．安静

C．时尚

D．随意

【小题3】In the writer’s eyes, the gentlemen are______.

A．the Germans	B．the Frenchmen
C．the Englishmen	D．the Americans

【小题4】What can we learn about the Frenchmen from the passage?

A．They are more outgoing than the Americans.

B．It is very easy to make friends with them.

C．They like traveling in their own country.

D．They look serious and are always hard-working.

【小题5】Which is the best title of the passage?

A．Foreigners’ hobbies.

B．Who are more outgoing?

C．Characteristics of the foreigners.

D．Success is an important part in Americans’ life.

International students in Christine Rhodes’ English class in Australia share their impressions (印象) of places they have visited in Australia.
Canberra, the nicest city in Australia
I went for a short holiday to Canberra. My uncle lives there. It’s the nicest city in Australia, a little bit similar to Cairns. There’re lots of big rivers and trees around the city.
Siggi Siebold from Germany
The small city of Mount Isa
I went to Mount Isa six months ago. It’s a long way from Brisbane — about 2,000 km. It’s a small city, with a population of 21,000, but it has all the basic facilities such as a base hospital, six schools and supermarkets. Here the weather is hot and gets very little rain. There’re two big lakes to keep rainwater for people in the city to drink.
Indra Ekanayake
Lake Moondarra and a mine (矿)
In Mount Isa, there’s a dam (水坝) called Lake Moondarra. At weekends you can go there with your friends, and it is beautiful. On the lake, there is water skiing. Also, people can go fishing there.
There’s a big mine in Mount Isa. Many people go to work in the mine and earn a lot of money. Mount Isa isn’t a beautiful green place, but many people love it.
Ida Robb from Indonesia
【小题1】Siggi Siebold is from 　　　.

A．Australia

B．Germany

C．England

D．Indonesia

【小题2】What does the underlined word “facilities” probably mean in Chinese?

A．设施

B．土地

C．交通

D．名胜

【小题3】Lake Moondarra is a 　　　.

A．city

B．mountain

C．mine

D．dam

【小题4】Which of the following is NOT mentioned by Ida Robb?

A．People can go fishing on Lake Moondarra.

B．There are 21,000 people in Mount Isa.

C．There’s a big mine in Mount Isa.

D．Many people like Mount Isa though it isn’t a beautiful green place.

【小题5】Which of the following is TRUE?

A．Siggi Siebold stayed in Canberra for six months.

B．Mount Isa is a famous village in Australia.

C．People in Mount Isa drink rainwater.

D．People can’t go water skiing on the lake.

We can make mistakes at any age. Some mistakes we make are about money. But most mistakes are about people.
Why do we go wrong about our friends? Sometimes people hide their real meanings when they say something. And if we don’t really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words. Suppose someone tells you, “You’re a lucky dog.” That’s being friendly. But “lucky dog”? There’s a bit of envy(嫉妒) in those words. Maybe he doesn’t see _it_ himself. But “lucky dog” puts you down a little. He may mean you don’t deserve your luck.
How can you tell the real meaning behind someone’s words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking. Do his words fit the way he looks? Do his words agree with the tone(语调) of voice? His posture(姿态)? The look in his eyes? Stop and think. If you spend the minute thinking about the real meaning behind one’s words, it may save another mistake.
【小题1】According to the passage, the reason why we go wrong about our friends is that ______.

A．we fail to listen carefully when they talk

B．we become angry when we realize what they really mean

C．they sometimes said one thing but meant another

D．we never believe what people say

【小题2】What does the underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refer to(指) ?

A．Being friendly

B．A bit of envy

C．A lucky dog

D．The good luck

【小题3】From the passage, how many things should we pay attention to when we take a good look at the person talking?

A．Three

B．Five

C．Six

D．Four

【小题4】According to the passage, the writer most probably is a ______.

A．teacher	B．psychologist(心理学家)
C．farmer	D．doctor

【小题5】This passage is about __________.

A．how to tell the real meaning behind our words

B．what to do when you listen to others talking

C．how to avoid(避免) mistakes when communicating with people

D．why we must know the wrong we will do

Judy had very bad luck yesterday. In the morning, she came to school late, because her alarm clock didn’t go off. Usually she goes to school at 7:20 am. But yesterday, it was already 8:00 am when she got up. The teacher was angry(生气的) and asked her to stay in the classroom after school. At 5:00 pm, it was time for students to go home. But Judy couldn’t. She stayed until(直到) 5:30 pm. When she just went out of the classroom, it began to rain. She didn’t have an umbrella. On her way home, she fell off(摔下) her bicycle. When she got home, she was wet all through.
【小题1】Judy was a(n)       .

A．teacher

B．student

C．doctor

D．actor

【小题2】What does the underlined “go off” mean?

A．出故障。

B．爆炸。

C．响。

D．停止。

【小题3】When did Judy’s classmates go home?

A．At 7:20 am.

B．At 8:30 am.

C．At 5:00 pm.

D．At 5:30 pm.

【小题4】How did Judy go home?

A．By bus.

B．By car.

C．By bike.

D．By train.

【小题5】Which is the best title?

A．Judy, a bad girl.

B．What a terrible day!

C．Judy’s school life.

D．A lucky day.