The water hyacinth (水胡蘆) grows in tropical (熱帶的) countries. It has beautiful purple-blue flowers,but everybody hates it.

   Millions and millions of these plants grow in rivers and lakes. Sometimes the plants become so thick that people can walk on them. People cannot travel in boats on the water,and they cannot fish in it. The plants stop the water from moving. Then the water carries diseases. Farmers cannot use the water on their land.

   Now scientists think that water hyacinths can be useful. The plants are really a free crop. No one has to take care of them. They just grow and grow and grow. What can farmers use them for?

   Some fish like to eat them. Farmers can grow these fish in the lakes and rivers.

   Workers can collect and cut the plants with machines. Then they can also make fertilizer to make their crops grow better. They can also make feed (飼 料) for their farm animals.

   Maybe it will be possible to make methane gas (沼氣) for energy. Methane gas can be made from plants. We bum gas from petroleum (石、油) for energy. Then poor tropical countries will not have to buy so much expensive petroleum. Maybe in the future people will love the water hyacinth instead of hating it.

1. What color are the flowers of the water hyacinth?

   A. Yellow.

   B. Purple-blue.

   C. Black and white.

   D. Pink.

2. Paragraph 2   mainly tells us .

   A. how water hyacinths grow in lakes

   B. where water hyacinths live

   C. why people hate water hyacinths

   D. what makes the water carry diseases

3. Which of the following shows the water hyacinth is useful?

   A. Farmers can feed their fish with the water hyacinth.

   B. The water hyacinth grows so thick in rivers.

   C. Boats can't move in the water with the water hyacinth.

   D. The water hyacinth stops the water from running fast.

4. The underlined word “fertilizer” means “”in Chinese.

   A. 資源   B. 財富

   C. 垃圾   D. 肥料

5. According to the passage,which of the following is TRUE?

   A. People must take good care of water hyacinths.

   B. Scientists think water hyacinths are useless plants.

   C. Maybe we can make methane gas from water hyacinths in the future.

   D. People love water hyacinths very much now.

   Do you sometimes try something new and expect to be successful for the first time? Are you angry with yourself if you aren’t?

   Do you know a baby how to learn to walk? When a baby falls,the loving parent 1 her ,“That's OK. Try again. ” Can you imagine if after many falls,the parent 2 the baby and said, “Well,I guess you’ll 3 be good at walking ,” and didn't let the child continue to try?

   Remember the first time you 4 your bike? I do. I didn't lose my confidence. But I went back and tried again. Didn’t you?

   When I was a kid,my dad told me,44You know,I invented 4 UP (—種汽水飲料) ，but it wasn’t very good,I went back to the lab and 5 5 UP and still,it wasn’t right. Finally I tried 6 UP,but it didn't sell. So I stopped. If I went on trying,maybe 7 UP would be 6 !” He told me. Time after time,he said,he 7 too soon. He told me ,“If I 8 one more,I could have been a rich man. ”

   Thomas Edison failed over a thousand 9 before he found the one filament (燈絲) material that would make an electric light bulb shine (發(fā)光) .

   10 we try something new,we need practice. No matter how well we plan,there are times unexpected problems develop.

Failure really is not an option (選擇) .It is a chance only for those who try.

1. A. obeys   B. beats   C. encourages   D. hates

2. A. picked up   B. dressed up   C. cleaned up   D. looked up

3. A. nearly   B. always   C. never   D. almost

4. A. fell off   B. fell down   C. fell from   D. fell over

5. A. started with   B. came up with   C. looked forward to   D. stopped from

6. A. the achievement   B. the invention   C. the hit   D. the gift

7. A. gave out   B. gave up   C. gave away   D. gave in

8. A. were trying   B. try   C. tried   D. trying

9. A. times   B. time   C. money   D. plans

10. A. Whenever   B. Whatever   C. However   D. Whichever

   Are you often very tired and stressed out because of the long trip? Maybe you can control it at the moment. A company in America has found the ideal product to help travelers (方行者) reduce the uncomfortable feelings during the long trip. Please look at the new product called the Ostrich Pillow (鴕鳥枕) .

   The Ostrich Pillow is a kind of new product which is very easy and light for travelers to carry. It can help travelers sleep anytime and anywhere,including in airport (飛機場) halls and on planes.

   According to its inventors—the distinctive-looking pillow has a hole in which to put your head,and a mouth hole designed to allow its wearer to breathe easily. It also has two side holes where you can store your hands—if napping at a table in a library,for example. And it isn’t heavy at all,so the travelers can carry it everywhere during the long trip.

   The Ostrich Pillow has been described on the technology web site CNET as like “ a giant garden squash gone soft” . The inventors sayWe have tried it in many places like at the airports,on the trains,on the airplanes,in the libraries,at the office,on a sofa and even on the floor and in fact it's really wonderful. ”

   The Ostrich Pillow will go into production if its fundraising aims are met. The company is now trying to collect $ 70,000 for creative business ideas. And the number so far is slightly more than $35,000 with 23 days remaining.

  根據(jù)文章內(nèi)容，完成下面表格。

   Han Tianyu is a lucky young On Feb 10,2014,the 17-year-old won a silver medal in the men's 1,500m short track speed skating (短道速滑) at the Sochi Winter Olympics. It is also China's first medal at Sochi.

   Han is also lucky because he was able to compete with his childhood idol (偶像) Victor An in the final and beat him.

   Victor An is a famous South Korean short track speed skater. He now competes for Russia. Eight years ago when Han just entered the field,Victor had won three gold and one bronze (銅牌) at the Turin Winter Olympics. It deeply impressed the young Han in front of the TV.

   “Victor An is my idol”’ said Han. “I have been imitating him for years but I'm more eager to beat him. ”

   When the chance finally came,Han said he was a little bit nervous. It was his first Winter Olympics after all. But he didn't think about it much. “I took every round as my final,and tried my best to compete. ” Finally,he got the silver and held An down by just 0. 007 seconds. An got the bronze.

   “The silver medal gives me great confidence,” said Han. “ It tells me that I'm no worse than the world's best athletes. I'll try my best and do better in the following competitions. ”

1. Han started to enter the short track speed skating field in .

   A. 2008

   B. 2006

   C. 2009

   D. 2012

2. The underlined word “imitating” in the passage probably means “ ”.

   A. 模仿

   B. 譴責

   C. 喜歡

   D. 稱贊

3. Han felt when he had a chance to compete with Victor An.

   A. confident

   B. excited

   C. nervous

   D. sorry

4. Which of the following is TRUE?

   A. Han won China's first gold medal at Sochi.

   B. Victor An was born in Russia.

   C. Victor An won four medals in 2006.

   D. Han doesn’t like to imitate Victor An.

   I remember when I was a child,I loved eating chicken. I liked it prepared in all ways. I preferred eating chicken to meat or fish.

   My mother used to tell me to eat another kind of meat because whenever she cooked,she had to prepare chicken for me even if she prepared another kind of meat for the rest of the family.

   One day,we went out to eat. As my parents knew that I liked chicken so much,we went to eat roasted (烤) chicken. We ordered roasted chicken,yucca,and cokes. The meal was delicious.

   At about 9 pm I went to sleep as usual. However,around 2 am that night something bad happened. I woke up with a terrible stomachache. About 15 minutes later,I went to the bathroom and threw up.

   After that,I started to hate chicken,and I finally stopped eating it. After that,whenever my mother prepared chicken for my family,she had to prepare another meal for me.

   One day,my parents went out of town. My brother and I stayed at home. That night,I didn't want to cook,but I was very hungry when I saw my brother eating fried chicken. My brother offered me a piece of chicken. At first,I hesitated to accept it,however,he insisted that I needed to eat something. When I tasted the chicken,I really liked the flavor (味) ，so I decided to eat a whole piece.

   After that evening,I realized that chicken is not bad,and that whatever happened that day when I got sick was something that doesn’t happen all the time. Nowadays,it is my favorite meal again!

1. What's the writer's favorite food when she was a child?

   A. Chicken. B. Meat.

   C. Fish. D. Mutton.

2. Why did the writer have a stomachache after eating in the restaurant?

   A. Because she disliked the chicken offered by the restaurant.

   B. Because she couldn’t have a good rest.

   C. The chicken in the restaurant went bad.

   D. We can't know from the passage.

3. What does the underlined phrase “ threw up ” in paragraph four probably mean in Chinese?

   A. 洗澡   B. 清掃

   C. 吃藥   D. 嘔吐

4. Which day does “that day” in the last paragraph mean?

   A. The day she ate chicken for the first time.

   B. The day she ate chicken in the restaurant.

   C. The day she ate chicken again.

   D. The day her parents went out of town.

   When I was very young,I had a dream which was to become a veterinarian one day, because I loved animals very much especially dogs. But there was no room in my adult life for a dog.

   Then last year,I could not stand the fact that I had the cancer (癌癥) . It was the bad news for me. I wanted to keep a dog,but I knew my illness made it impossible to keep it. In early September,my doctor decided to let me keep a furry friend,because my immune system (免疫系統(tǒng)) was strong to keep a dog.

   The same day I went to an animal market with my boyfriend. When I saw a 9-week-old dog with big brown eyes,nice ears and white fur,I took it home.

   I have been always happy these days since Oscar came into my life. My new favorite pastime is to watch it sleep,eat and run. And I have been spending more time caring about it,taking long walks with it in the park.

   I still have my weekly appointments (約會) at the hospital. But my illness got better with the company of a dog and my immune system was getting stronger,my doctors told me.

1. The writer wanted to be when she was young.

   A. a waitress   B. a doctor

   C. a veterinarian   D. a policeman

2. The writer could keep a dog because .

   A. she loved it very much

   B. she had enough room for it

   C. she had a cancer

   D. her immune system was strong

3. About the dog,which of the following was TRUE?

   A. It was found on the road by the writer.

   B. It had big and brown eyes.

   C. It was black.

   D. He was nine months old when the writer found it.

4. The writer did the following except .

   A. watching her dog sleep

   B. watching her dog eat and run

   C. eating with her dog together

   D. taking walks with her dog

5. From the last paragraph,we can infer the writer her dog.

   A. is thankful to   B. is worried about

   C. doesn’t like   D. is strict with

   There is a large desert between our village and Hope Town and there are two ways to get to Hope Town. One is short but dangerous;the other is long but 1 Many people have lost their lives in order to get to Hope Town 2 .

   “We’ll have to plant young trees in the desert between Hope Town and our village to make a ‘ road ”” said the head of our village. A few days later,a “tree road” 3 .

   But soon all the young trees died out in the hot sun. “The dry trees are still helpful; we can regard them 4 our road signs ,” said the head, “Every time we walk along them,pull them upward 5 they can't be covered with sand. ”

   6 the head's advice,the villagers have shuttled (往返) between our village and Hope Town safely for several years.

   One day when a businessman wanted to 7 the desert to Hope Town,some villagers told him the advice.

   “Anyway,I walk past here only for this time,8 doesn’t matter with me to pull the dry trees upward or not ,” the businessman thought. When he reached the half-way point,a heavy sandstorm was blown,in no time most of the dry trees 9 . The poor businessman got lost!When he was dying,he was regretful,10 I had done as the villagers told me,I could find a way out. ”

   To leave others a way is to leave yourself a way!

1. A. safe   B. dangerous   C. fast   D. wide

2. A. later   B. slower   C. sooner   D. safer

3. A. planted   B. finished   C. was planted   D. was finished

4. A. to   B. as   C. for   D. toward

5. A. so that   B. in order to   C. by the way   D. so far

6. A. Thanks for   B. Thanks to   C. Such as   D. As for

7. A. through   B. across   C. cross   D. past

8. A. it   B. this  C. that   D. they

9. A. appeared   B. disappeared   C. died   D. moved

10. A. When   B. How     C. What      D. If

   閱讀短文，根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容補全表格中所缺失的 信息，每空僅填一詞。

   When you sleep at a summer camp,you know you’re there for a fun time. But fun as this is,for some kids being away from home can be scary and sad. They start to miss their old beds and their parents. It's called being homesick. You can help yourself feel less homesick. Here's how:

   If you’re going away from home,bring your pillow or your favorite pajamas. Or maybe you have a favorite bedtime snack. If you’re going to camp,maybe your mom or dad could pack it in your suitcase. You can also bring pictures of the people you’ll be apart from and look at them any time you want.

   Spend more time in doing fun things. The more fun things you do,the less time you’ll have to feel homesick. So try to take part in activities and soon you might start to have a good time.

   You can make a plan to call your mum or dad. For a night visit,maybe you can call once that night,and again in the morning. In the camp,you might set a regular day and time for a phone call home. You can also send e-mails or short messages to keep in touch with family and friends. If you’re going to be away for a while,you might even write a letter!When you get in touch with someone,make sure to tell them about the fun things you’re doing!

   Sometimes,just tell someone that you’re feeling homesick. This will help you feel better. Maybe you can tell a friend that you feel homesick. And the two of you can do something fun,such as telling jokes. If you’re at camp,a camp counselor (顧問) would be a good person to talk to. He or she might have some ideas to help you feel better.

  Look after your Pet!Cat Grass. Your cat will love this green grass.

   YOU WILL NEED

   Small planter (花盆) 

   Potting soil 

   Water 

   Cat grass seeds you can buy at plant stores 

   HERE’S HOW 

   Fill the planter with soil. Add water until the soil is slightly wet. Throw seeds across the top layer (層) of soil,then press them into the soil. Wet the soil again. Keep the soil wet until the grass begins to sprout—about one to two weeks. Then water as needed. When your grass grows,invite your cat to this all-you-can-eat salad bar.

   Sounds Great—Bottled Music 

   YOU WILL NEED 

   The same plastic bottles

   Water 

   HERE’S HOW 

   Fill the plastic bottles with different amounts of water. Arrange the bottles in order from most to least full. Blow across the top of each bottle and compare the different sounds you make.

    ▲ 

   Changing the amounts of air and water in the bottles lets you change the pitch (音高) 一how high or low the sound is. When you blow across the tops of the bottles,you are making the air inside vibrate (振動) . In bottles with more air,vibrations are slower,so the pitch is lower.

1. Where can you get cat grass seeds?

   A. In the pet hospital.

   B. At the plant store.

   C. From the post office.

   D. In the music hall.

2. Which of the following is the RIGHT order to grow cat grass?

a. Press the cat grass seeds into the soil.

b. Put soil into the planter.

c. Finally water the soil in the planter.

d. Throw cat grass seeds on the soil.

e. Add water and make the soil slightly wet.

   A. b-e-d-a-c   B. d-b-e-c-a

   C. e-b-a-c-d   D. a-c-b-e-d

3. The underlined word “sprout” means “ ” in Chinese.

   A. 發(fā)芽   B. 枯萎

   C. 結果   D. 戊盛

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

   A. There are different amounts of water in the bottles.

   B. Blow across the top of each bottle to make music.

   C. Arrange the bottles in any order you like.

   D. In bottles with more air,the pitch is lower.

5. Which can be properly put in ▲ ?

   A. WHEN   B. WHY

   C. WHERE   D. WHAT

   School in Sydney starts around February every year. The weather is very hot so it's a relief that there's a swimming carnival (狂歡節(jié)) during this time. There are many swimming races and water activities for us to have fun and get points for some rewards.

   This year's swimming carnival gave me some surprises. After taking some races,I entered the breaststroke (蛙泳) race for 12-year-olds. However,as there were too many 12-year-olds who wanted to race,my friend and I had to wait until the next race. When it was finally our turn,we had to race 13-year-olds. I felt determined to get into the top 3. After all,the other racers were better at swimming than me. When the whistle blew,I jumped straight into the water. I came third at last and was very surprised and proud that I got a place in the next round!

   Besides races,other water activities were also interesting. I joined an activity called kickboard (踢 板) races. It was like a relay (接力) .One person swims to the other side of the pool and passes a board to the person waiting there. Then the person swims back and passes the board on. Sometimes we raced each other from one side to the other before passing the board on. The other students cheered happily for us.

   I liked the carnival. It helped us learn how to take part,work together and have fun at school.

1. A swimming carnival was held because .

   A. it was the beginning of the term

   B. students can have fun in hot weather

   C. it was required in a PE class

   D. the school wanted to give students a surprise

2. The writer got the third place in .

   A. a kickboard race

   B. a diving competition

   C. a breaststroke race

   D. a relay race 

3. If you take part in a kickboard race, you need to.

   A. have good balance

   B. know how to work with others

   C. cheer loudly for others

   D. be 12 years old

4. From the passage,we learn that the writer .

   A. has great determination

   B. has poor swimming skills

   C. doesn’t get along with others

   D. thinks poorly of himself

5. The writer thinks the swimming carnival is .

   A. unhappy   B. dangerous

   C. traditional   D. meaningful