Most children don’t enjoy doing housework. They like playing computer games rather than cleaning the rooms. But in Australia, Jim and Robert’s mother, Mrs Black, has good and proper methods to get their children to do housework.
Here is an example.
“Mum, have you worked out next week’s housework? Let Jim and me choose the cards I can’t wait. It’s fun!”
When Robert shouted out, his mother had already put all the cards on their big table. On the cards, there are some words like these, “sweep the floor, clean your bedroom, help mum cook, wash vegetables, make beds, feed the fish, cut the wood, clean the bathroom” and many others, Jim and Robert chose two cards for each day from Monday to Friday. Then they would hang them on the week day task board. Jim likes to clean the bathroom, so he picked up the card “clean the bathroom”. Robert loves to make the bed so he picked up his favorite card. Jim again picked up “wash vegetables” and Robert chose “feed the fish”. Soon the two boys were happy to take away all the cards
To help the children do housework, their mother thought hard and came up with this idea. Of    course, the parents did the housework on the weekends and left Jim and Robert two days free.
【小題1】 From the passage we know that most children like       .

Middle school students have far too much homework. They usually have to sit up three or four hours every night doing their homework. Now one school in my hometown has made a rule of limiting(限制)homework. The homework is limited to an hour a day and the students have no homework on the weekend. I think this is an excellent idea that will allow students to live better and healthier lives.
Less homework will give students more time to enjoy other pastimes(休閑活動(dòng)).I have many books which I received as gifts from my parents and friends. They have been kept there on my shelf for several years! Because of homework, I will have not read a single one of them. With less homework, students will be freer to develop their interests in art, music and other hobbies.
More time free from homework will get our physical health better. Many students
like sports, but they have little time to play football, basketball, volleyball and so on. They hardly have time to have a trip or take part in any social activities. They must spend so much time solving math problems and doing grammar exercises. Besides, staying up late to finish their homework leaves many students exhausted in the morning. Not getting enough sleep is not only unpleasant; it also makes students more likely(有可能得)to get colds and other illnesses.
【小題1】 Which is the best title for the passage?

I like to get up late, so my ideal school starts at 9 a.m. It finished at 3 P.m., so we will have lots of time for after-school activities. There is a big dining hall.
We have an hour for lunch. We eat lunch and chat there. We can also listen to pop music in the hall. We eat fruit and vegetables every day.
We have Maths every day because I think Maths is very interesting to us. I love computers, so we have Computer Studies every day. We wear school uniforms, but we do not wear ties. The classes are quite small. There are 15 students in each class.
There is a park on one side of our school and a shopping mall on the other. We have a big library with lots of useful books. We also have a tennis court and a swimming pool.
There are lots of clubs and after-school activities. We only have half an hour of homework every day, and we do not do homework at weekends. Every month, we go on a school trip to a museum or a theater.
【小題1】How many hours for lessons are there in my school?

Emma and Hannah are 13–year–old school girls from Minnesota,USA.They are good at making new thing s and both of them are also good at sales.They are selling charms(小裝飾物) made out of bottle caps.
The girls came up with the idea last summer when they saw charms were popular with kids.
They talked with their parents about the idea.Since then they have sold enough charms to buy a bike for Hannah.
The girls collect bottle caps and then clean them.They find some interesting pictures on the Internet or on paper,and then glue them onto the inside of the caps.There are different kinds of pictures,“Peace signs are popular with girls,and single–letter charms are popular with boys whose names start with those letters,”Emma and Hannah said.
Now,charms can be found everywhere at Dakota Hills Middle School in Eagan.“Students put charms on purses,backpacks ,and their lunchboxes,”said Emma.Emma and Hannah also have a shop on the Internet.They hope they can sell their charms to more kids.They’re thinking about selling their charms at the Eagan Market Festival next summer.
Their business is not only for getting money.At their Valentine’s sale,20%of the income( 收入) went to charity.
【小題1】What are Emma and Hannah?

A principal decided to honor the teachers in his school to show his appreciation(感激)for their hard work. He told them how they made a difference in their jobs. Then he gave each of them a blue ribbon(緞帶)that read, “Who I Am Makes a Difference.”
One of the teachers wanted to take this idea into her students. One day the teacher noticed that a boy in her class was unhappy. She went to him and asked him the reason. The boy told her that his father had been worrying about the job and often punished him for some little things. Hearing what he said, the teacher decided to give him the ribbon to cheer him up. She said, “Dear boy, what your father has done doesn’t mean the lack(缺少)of love for you. He needs your understanding. You’ve been a kind boy. Here’s a ribbon for you. Would you like to take this ribbon and pass it on? Let’s keep this ceremony going and find out how it affects people.”
That night the boy sat beside his father and said, “Dad, today my teacher gave me a blue ribbon for being kind and asked me to find somebody else to honor. I’d like to give the ribbon to you. I want to let you know how deeply I admire you and how much you mean to me. I love you!”
根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容判斷正、誤。
（注意：考生將答題卡相應(yīng)位置涂黑。正確的涂“A”，錯(cuò)誤的涂“B”）
【小題1】All the teachers took the principal’s idea into their students.
【小題2】 The teacher gave the ribbon to the boy because she wanted to cheer him up.
【小題3】With the teacher’s help, the boy showed his admiration and love for his father.
【小題4】 The father wasn’t surprised or moved at all when he received the ribbon from his son.
【小題5】 From the passage, we know only encouragement brought the father’s confidence back.

One day when some government officials were rebuilding a house, they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to make the mice inside the hole come out. A while later they saw mice running out, one after another，but they saw two mice didn’t run away immediately. It seemed that one was trying to bite(咬) the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they came nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the two mice was blind, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite his tail in order to pull the blind one with him to run away.
During the meal time, they started to talk about the two mice. One serious American said, “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard.”
A smart Frenchman said, “I think the relationship between them was that of husband and wife.”
A Japanese said, “I think the relationship between them was that of mother and son.”
At that moment, one Chinese asked, “Why did those two mice have a certain relationship?”
Suddenly, they looked back at the Chinese. The American, the Frenchman and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered (低下) their heads in shame, and didn’t answer.
In fact, the great love is not built on friendship or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship.
【小題1】The two mice didn’t go away immediately because _______.

My class will put on a short play in English at the end of the year. Yesterday our English teacher gave us copies of the play.
“Choose a character in the play whom you’d like to be, ”she told us. “This afternoon learn a few lines of this part for homework. Then tomorrow you can say those lines in front of the class. Ill decide who play each part.”
I wanted to have one of the bigger parts in the play, so I choose the part of the king. He has a lot of lines to say. I learned them by heart.
This morning in our English lesson we had to say our lines. I acted the part of the king. When I said my lines, I put a lot of expression into my acting. I thought I acted really well.
Everyone in the class read a part and then the teacher who would play each part.
Many of the students in my class couldn’t act at all. They couldn’t even read without making lots of mistakes. I was sure that I would get a big part in the play.
However, the teacher gave me the part of a soldier. He has only one line. It is, “Yes, sir!”
I was very disappointed. At the end of the lesson I went up to her and asked her why I had such a small part.
“You put too much expression in your acting,” she said. “Good acting is not big acting. It is acting the audience can believe in.”
I think I know what she means.
【小題1】 What did the boy want to do in the play?

When you finish high school or university, is learning done? The answer is “no”. In many countries, people continue learning all their lives. Why is lifelong learning important? How can it help you? Let’s look at one example of lifelong learning in Japan.
Why is lifelong learning important?
You go to school and learn. You take tests. But learning doesn’t only happen in school. And learning doesn’t stop when you graduate from high school or college. You are learning all the time. For example, learning can happen when you go to a museum. It can also happen when you get a job. You learn when you play a sport or when you take a trip. Learning is life! We never stop learning. Every day, you can improve yourself by learning something new.
Lifelong learning in Japan
In Japan, life learning is very important. People in Japan like to try new learning activities. Music calligraphy, flower arranging, and foreign languages are some of their favorite classes. The Japanese take classes to improve their skills and learn new things.
Conclusion
When we graduate from school, we can continue to learn. Make lifelong learning one of your goals!
【小題1】Why is lifelong learning important?

If you want to become a better reader, what should you know about speed of reading?
Some people read very rapidly(很快地), while others read very slowly. But which one is
better?
The rapid reader may be a good reader when he reads a storybook for fun. But he may not be
able to slow down enough to read directions(說(shuō)明) carefully. He may read so rapidly that he does
not take time to understand fully the ideas and information which are important to remember.
The slow reader may be a good reader when he reads directions for making something. But he
may spend too much time in reading a simple story which is meant to be enjoyed but is not
important enough to be remembered.
So, you see, either a rapid reader or a slow reader is not really a good one. If you wish to
become a better reader, here are four important things to remember about speed of reading.
1. Knowing why you are reading will often help you to know whether to read rapidly or
slowly.
2. Some things should be read slowly throughout. Examples are directions for making or doing
something, science and history books, and Maths problems. You must read such things slowly or
remember each important step and understand each important idea.
3. Some things should be read rapidly throughout. Examples are simple stories for enjoyment,
letters from friends and bits of news from hometown papers.
4. In some of your reading, you must change your speed from fast to slow and slow to fast, as
you go along. You will need to read certain(某些) pages rapidly and then slow down and do more
careful reading when you come to important ideas.
【小題1】 What should be read rapidly?

Some people think only school children do not agree with their parents, however, it is not true.
Communication is a problem for parents and children of all ages. If it’s hard for you to communicate with your parents, don’t worry about it. Here are some advice for you to bridge the generation gap (代溝).
Don’t argue (爭(zhēng)辯) with your parents. Don’t get to your parents when you are angry. Your parents probably won’t consider your ideas if you are shouting at them. And you can’t express yourself well if you are angry. Go someplace to cool off. Make sure you understand why you are unhappy. Then think about what you want to say to your parents. If you don’t think you can speak to them at the moment, try writing a letter.
Try to reach a compromise (和解). Perhaps you and your parents disagree on something. You can keep your disagreement and try your best to accept each other. Michael’s mother didn’t agree with him about buying a motorcycle. They argued over it. But they finally came to a compromise. Michael bought the motorcycle, but only drove it on certain days.
Of course, your parents might refuse to compromise on something. In these situations, it is especially important to show love and respect (尊敬) to them. Showing respect will keep your relationship strong.
Talk about your values. The values of your parents are probably different from those of your own. Tell your parents what you care about, and why. Understanding your values might help them see your purposes in life.
A good relationship with your parents can make you a better and happier person. It is worth having a try!
【小題1】According to the passage who have a communication problem?