My granddaughter, 10, was very happy the day before yesterday because her mother and the mother of one of her classmates took them to a park and a Pizza Hut （比萨饼屋）to celebrate Children’s Day. For a whole day, the two girls played heartily – no homework, no extra-curricular（课外） skills training. The happy life lasted only for one day. Yesterday, everything returned to normal: doing homework till late at night and going over lessons learned at last weekend’s English and “ Olympic mathematics” （数学奥赛）　courses.

Every time I went to my daughter’s house in the evening, I saw my granddaughter sitting by the small desk in her room doing math exercises or writing a compositions given by her teacher. On the white wall behind the desk are some words she wrote. One sentence reads: “ Why is the exercise endless?”

Poor girl!

Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children, parents have been forcing their kids to take part in different kinds of extra-curricular training courses-learning English, painting, music instrument （乐器）, weiqi, “ Olympic mathematics” and so on, every Saturday and Sunday.

Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children’s education? The answer is certainly “ No”. Take the so-called “ Olympic mathematics” for example. These courses are very difficult for the children to understand. Often, they are difficult even for adults （成年人）.

（   ）1. The writer’s granddaughter celebrated her Children’s Day by _____.

           A．playing all day              B．doing nothing

           C．having a party              D．going over lessons

（   ）2. Usually at weekends the girl will _______.

A．stay at home               B．play with their classmates

C．do whatever she likes        D．go to different kinds of training courses

（   ）3. The writer thinks that her granddaughter ______.

A．lives a happy life            B．goes to bed early at weekend

C．has too much homework      D．likes to do more exercises

（   ）4. Which is true according to （根据）the passage?

A．The “Olympic Mathematics” is too difficult for kids.

B．The grandfather thinks playing is more important than learning.

C．Teachers often give students useless homework.

D．The parents don’t want their kids to do lots of homework.

（   ）5. From the last paragraph（段落）we know that the writer thinks _____.

A．only school courses are useful to kids

B．some extra-curricular courses kids learn after school are not necessary

C．some extra-curricular courses are even more difficult for adults

D．kids shouldn’t learn difficult courses

Emma is my friend．Her full name is Emma Miller．She has a sister．Her sister's name is Amy．They like playing tennis very much．Every day alter dinner，Emma usually plays tennis with her sister．They often play for three hours（小时）．After（在……之后）playing tennis，Emma and Amy do their homework（家庭作业）．After doing their homework，Emma watches TV．But Amy doesn't like watching TV．She likes playing computer games．They are good sisters．And they are good friends，too．

1．What is Emma's sister's full name?

A．Emma Miller． B．Miller Emma． C．Amy Miller．         D．Miller Amy．

2．What do Emma and Amy like very much?

A．Playing tennis．                           B．Playing basketball．

C．Watching TV．                           D．Playing computer games．

3．________，Emma usually plays tennis with her sister for three hours．

A．Every morning                            B．At noon

C．Every day after dinner                  D．Every day after lunch

4．After playing tennis，________．

A．Emma and Amy do their homework         B．Emma and Amy watch TV

C．Emma and Amy play computer games        D．Emma and Amy go to bed

5．________doesn't like watching TV．

A．Amy              B．Emma               C．Amy' s sister       D．Amy's friend

"Tammy! Come here, please! Mother needs your help in the kitchen." Her father called out to her.
Tammy was in her room, getting ready to do her homework. "Yes, Daddy!" she replied. "I'll be right there."
She hurried out of her bedroom and down the hallway. She was only nine years old. Her elder sister, Ella, had just moved away to go to a performing arts high school in another city. Her brother, Harry, was in middle school and always got home late. With Ella leaving home, Tammy was expected to do a lot more than she had ever done before, especially now, because her mother was ill.
Her father was in the kitchen. "Tammy, I know you usually do your homework right now, but with things being different, we all have to change a little bit. I'll help you and Harry with your homework later on, OK?"
Her father had an apron（围裙） on over his clothes, and he looked kind of funny. He was doing the dishes and he always splashed（溅出） water all over when he did that. After helping her father with the dishes, Tammy helped set the table.
After supper, her father helped her and Harry with their homework, and then they played a board game so that their mother could lie down for a while.
The next morning, Tammy got up early on her own because she wanted to help her mother with breakfast. She made orange juice and even put bread in the toaster and got out the butter so that her mother could sleep for a few more minutes.
When her mother got up half an hour later, she was very surprised and moved to see the breakfast on the dining table. She gave Tammy a big hug.
"Thank you, Tammy. You really are mother's little helper now, aren't you?"
【小题1】Why did Tammy's sister move out of their home?

用所给单词的适当形式填空。

1．I think the man on the left is _______ than the man on the right．（outgoing）

2．She usually _______ her homework．（do）

3．--How do you get to school?   --I get to school on _______．（feet）

4．He has a _______．（head）（头疼）

5．Where are you _______ for vacation?（go）

6．My mother often  _______  to work by bike．（go）

7．--What are you doing for vacation? --I _______ my sister．（baby-sit）

8．“I have a toothache．” “You should _______ a dentist．”（see）

9．Amy _______ to do her homework．（have）

10．Lucy is _______ than Li Li．（popular）