How do you feel when you stay in hospital alone? Jenny, 13, a US student, feels bored. She knows the feeling because she has been in hospital many times herself. One day, she thought of an idea—if patients could get some books to read, they would feel better. So, from May, she and many of her friends began to collect books for hospital patients.
In six months the students collected 1,250 books at school. They decided to donate the books to the North Shore Medical Centre, a children’s hospital next door to their school. “There are books for kids of all ages, from babies up to high school level.” said Jenny.
The students put the books into “early readers”, “middle readers” and “advanced readers”. Then they wrote their best wishes to patients on bookmarks (書簽) and letters, put the books in big boxes and donated them to the hospital.
“We wrote things like, “Keep on reading!’ and ‘Hope you feel better!’,” siad John, 14, Jenny’s brother. “And we also wrote some funny things to make them laugh.”
Frank, 12, and Steven, 14, helped carry 16 large boxes of books into a car. “I think these books will make me a lot of patients feel happy.” said Frank. Steven shared his opinion. “It is really the most meaningful thing that I have ever done in my life.”
【小題1】Who first thought of the idea of helping those bored patients in hospital?

To Give up or Not to Give up as Class Monitor??
Dear Brad, ?
In about 3 months, I will take a very important test. If I pass the test with good grades, I can get to the 10th grade and choose a good school to study in. Now I am trying my best to achieve this. At the same time, I’m the monitor in my class, which means I should do lots of things for my class. ① I am so busy with my school-work and duties as monitor that I don’t have enough time to keep a balance between them . Gradually I become lazy. ②The other day, my head teacher told me that she was disappointed in my poor performance as class monitor . Her words really discouraged me. ?
What should I do now, to give up or not to give up as class monitor? I must do my best in school because how well I do will influence where I go after this school year is over and it can affect the rest of my life. Being class monitor is also a valuable learning experience because my teacher trusts me to be a good leader. ③ I don’t want to go to my parents for suggestions, for they will get worried about me . Can you tell me how to choose??
Yours, ?
Gates?
【小題1】根據①處內容，完成下面的句子。（每空一詞）?
I am    busy with my school-work and duties as monitor      have enough time to keep a balance between them. ?
【小題2】根據②處內容，完成下面的句子。（每空一詞）?
The other day, my head teacher said to me, “             disappointed in your poor performance as class monitor.”?
【小題3】將③處翻譯成漢語。?

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.?
My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.?
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do. ?
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested(taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. I am filled with pride when my children call me “mean”. Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.?
【小題1】 How many children does the writer’s mother have??

Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends．They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do．In large families，it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas．
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends．Even when they are not with their friends，they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone．This communication is very important in children’s growing up，because friends can discuss something．These things are difficult to tell their family members．
However，parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them．Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends．Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome．
【小題1】Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better．

Even a child knows that nodding the head means" Yes"．But some people will probably be puzzled（迷惑的）when they first come to India．When they talk to an Indian，he often shakes his head．They might think that the Indian does not like what he said，but on the contrary，he is expressing agreement．
The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody．It doesn’t mean" No"，but" Yes"．
If a person doesn’t know this，it might cause misunderstanding（誤解）．
At one time a foreigner in India told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office．The driver shook his head．The foreigner said his request again and the driver still shook his head．At last，the foreigner shouted angrily，“Drive me to my office at once!” The driver said in a low voice，" Yes，sir，"smiling and shaking his head again at the same time．
【小題1】In general，nodding the head means and shaking the head means_____．

In old times，man considered lightning to be one of the great mysteries（神秘事物）of nature．In fact a single flash of lightning 1.6 kilometers long has enough electricity to light one million lamps．
The American scientist，Benjamin Franklin，was the first to suggest that lightning is in fact electricity formed between the earth and clouds high above．It happened in 1752．In the same year，he also built the first lightning rod（避雷針）to protect buildings from being struck by lightnings．
Modern science has discovered that lightning is very strong and powerful．A lightning between a cloud and the earth may be as long as 13 kilometers，and travels at a speed of 30 million meters per second．Scientists have the opinion that there are about 2000 million flashes of lightning per year．In the United States alone，it kills almost one person per day．
The safest place to be in during an electrical（電的）storm is a closed car．Outside，one should go close to low ground for cover and not stop under a tree．Also one should stay out of water and away from metal fences．Inside a house people should keep away from open doorways and windows and not touch wires or metal things．
【小題1】From this passage we know lightning is____．

My son Joey was born with club feet．The doctors told us that he would be able to walk，but would never run very well．By the time he was eight，you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk．
The children in our neighborhood ran around playing，and Joey would join them， run and play，too．We never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children．So he didn’t know．
In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team．Every day he worked harder and ran more than any of the others．Although the entire team runs，only the top seven runners score for the school．We didn’t tell him he probably would never be on the team，so he didn’t know．
He continued to run four to five miles a day，every day - even the day he had a high fever．I was worried，so I went to see him after school．I found him running all alone．I asked him how he felt．"Okay，" he said．He had two more miles to go．Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running．We never told him he couldn’t run miles with a high fever．So he didn’t know．
Two weeks later，the names of the team runners were called．Joey was Number Six on the list．Joey was on the team! He was in seventh grade．We never told him he couldn’t do it!
【小題1】The doctor believed Joey would never run very well because ____．

【小題1】 We can see this ad _________.

When you are curious about something and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The following steps can guide you during the research.
Step 1 Write down the subject that you are interested in on a piece of paper. Just get the main idea down. For example, you might write:
Discover more about robots.
Step 2 Stop and think for a moment about what you have already known about your subject. List what you have already known like the sentences below:
1. The first robot appeared in the USA in 1959.
2. A robot can do housework and act as a teacher.
3. Sometimes a robot catches viruses and causes a lot of problems.
Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn? By asking questions, start writing down questions about the robots on the paper:
1. What might robots be like in the future?
2. What other things can robots do for people?
3. What kind of power will robots possibly use in five years?
Step 4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin your research. As you learn more about your subject, you’ll probably discover some new questions.
For example, you might discover that robots can help scientists explore dangerous places, like the sea and outer space. How? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more widely.
The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking good questions. And remember that learning more always brings more questions.
【小題1】What does the writer advise us to do when we’re curious about something?