Oriole’s Nest

Picky, Picky

Scientists have no idea exactly why birds choose certain objects to build their nests. But scientists know that the main reason birds build nests is to keep their babies safe, warm and healthy.

    Baby birds grow faster and are healthier when they are warm. They also learn to fly and leave the nests sooner than birds without warm homes.

What A Yarn (紗)

Yarn is big on an oriole’s shopping list during nest building. Scientists are still trying to work out why so many birds choose white yarn over other colors for nest building.

Scientists think that the white objects remind birds of cotton fluff (絨毛) they find in the wild.

Do It Naturally  

Even though birds can help us recycle some of our junk by using it to build nests, they also need to use lots of natural things. Long grass, dried sticks, spider’s silk and mud are some of the natural ingredients that are good for nests, too.

You can make a collection box of things to leave for birds so they can help themselves. Hang a small plastic box with holes on a tree branch. Fill the box freely with nest building goodies. Hang the box on a tree and watch birds climb on board to pick through the junk to find their treasures.

Warning: Don’t let the birds turn into a tasty treat. Keep your bird station away from places where cats hang out.

For The Birds!

Stop! Don’t throw all that garbage out! Give some to the birds. Look and see how your old junk can help beautify and warm a bird’s new home.

1.The baby birds with warm homes are able to _____.

A. choose right objects                     B. leave the nests sooner

C. build good nests                         D. learn to fly higher

2. What can people make for birds to build nests?

A. Holes on the tree.                   B. Food out of the rubbish.

C. A warning board.                     D. A collection box of things.

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Birds build nests to store things.

B. Birds regard white objects as cotton.

C. Birds and humans can help each other.

D. Birds and cats fight against each other.

I will never forget the very moment that caused me to leave my gift behind because I wanted the gift that my older sister Maria had.

My family was spending a week at the beach. One morning, Maria went to the beach early, but I stayed behind to finish a drawing of a seashell. After finishing the drawing, I walked to join Maria. She was a top gymnast (體操運動員). Her show was perfect as she wheeled along the beach. The beauty of that sight froze me, and I decided immediately that I too would become a gymnast like her.

I knew that I had never been very good at sports. However, when I told my parents I wanted to take a gymnastics class, they agreed with me in surprise. The next week, I went to a beginners’ class.

   If only my parents had talked me out of this misguided plan! Five minutes into the first class, it was clear that I didn’t have the gift of a gymnast. But I kept at it.

   During this time, drawing and painting—which had been my two favorites—all but left my mind. It must have been hurting for my family as they watched my hopeless efforts. I blindly decided to be like Maria. I just would not give up.

   At the same time, on the advice of Ms. White, my art teacher, I hurriedly handed in my seashell drawing for an art contest in our town. One night as I was having a hard time practicing, the phone rang. It was Ms. White. “Alice, you won the contest!” she said loudly.

 “Really?” was all I could reply.

“Yes,” Ms. White said. “They’re going to give you a prize. And that’s not all. The winner is also accepted into Wildale’s Summer Fine Arts Institute.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. Only a handful of young artists were accepted each summer.

That night I didn’t go back into the living room to continue practicing. Gymnastics was Maria’s gift, not mine. It had taken me a while, but I realized that I had a gift of my own.

1.Alice wanted to be a gymnast because ________.

A. she had been good at sports                  B. her sister’s show was perfect

C. she hated drawing and painting               D. her parents wanted her to do so

2. How did Alice feel about learning gymnastics at last?

A. Satisfied.           B. Worried.             C. Hopeful          D. Regretful.  

3. From the story, we can infer that ________.

A. Alice’s parents disagreed with her choice of gymnastics

B. Alice did not realize her gift in drawing and painting at first

C. Alice spent a hard time preparing for the art contest in the town

D. Alice couldn’t believe the news that she got the prize for painting

4. What does the writer want to tell us according to the passage?

A. We should value our own gifts.           B. It takes time to find one’s gifts.

C. We could develop different gifts.        D. It’s never too late to show our gifts.

Many people think sports are just for winning and honor, but there is a lot more you can gain from (get out of) them. I have learned over the past years that sometimes when I lose, I get a lot more out of it than winning. Also, I find a lot of times in sports, people are getting too caught up in the game instead of just having fun. The real purpose of sports is to have fun and learn life lessons along the way.

I greatly encourage you to be a part of the school sports. Even if you are not the best, you can still have fun. Sports give people a great and healthy way of spending an afternoon, instead of lying around playing video games or even getting into bad things. Sports also give us a sense of achievement. There isn’t a better feeling than to have done something fun and productive for my day.

I think that we all need sports to give us courage. If we try hard in sports, we usually do well. If we did the same in study, we would all be champions. Another reason why I encourage you to play sports is that it’s just fun. Without sports, our lives would just be boring. So as you may be able to tell, sports are amazing!

Our coaches not only teach us to play sports, but show class and good sportsmanship while playing them. It’s never fun when you lose to have the competitor rub it in your face. That’s why our coaches teach us to show class when we lose; also, when coaches get onto you, don’t get down. They only want to see you improve and learn from what they say. When you do badly and they don’t shout loudly is when you should start worrying because they are giving up on you.

Overall, sports are great! They bring out the best and worst of a lot of us. However, we can’ t let sports get too serious to where it brings down all the fun. So to have the most fun in sports, you just need try your best and not worry so much about the winning or losing.

1.The underlined phrase “get onto you” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________.

A. point out your mistakes              B. take up your time      

C. worry about your future              D. look into your privacy

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Sports bring us great fun only if we have the talent.

B. Sports give us the best way of spending free time.

C. We can get more out of winning than losing.

D. We should take pleasure in doing sports.

3.What is the best title of this passage?

A. Are we too caught up?                    B. To win or to gain?

C. Are sports really great?                 D. For honor or for health?

閱讀短文，根據(jù)短文內容，從短文后的五個選項中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項。選項中有一項為多余選項。（共8分，每小題2分）

I was born in the computer age.  1. . They were already adults when the first personal computer came out. But with the development of technology, more jobs need skills like typing, sending e-mails, etc.

    When I was in middle school, they started asking me to help them do things with computers.

 2. . But my dad would make me stay up to finish his work. My parents even made me talk on the phone whenever there was something wrong with our computer.

    After realizing my parents really need my help, I tried to be more understanding. After all, I wasn’t born knowing how to use a computer.  3. ? I feel that teaching them by myself is better. We can communicate more and share understanding.

    I know it’s usually hard for adults to learn new skills. And a patient teacher is helpful for them.  4. . Parents and teens need to help each other.

閱讀短文，根據(jù)短文內容回答問題。（共10分，每小題2分）

On a very hot day, it is hard to know what to do to feel good. If you run around, you may feel sick in your stomach. However, if you just sit quietly and do nothing, you may feel bored. Are there things you can do to feel good and have fun when you’re hot?

Perhaps playing in water is a good choice to make you cool down. Taking a cool bath or shower, or even washing toys in a pan of cool water can also make you feel good on a hot day. Besides, you can read stories or paint in front of a fan. You don’t need to move your body very much. These are just some of the cool things to do on a hot day.

In addition, it’s important for you to drink water. On hot days, you can lose about 16 glasses of water in one day. If you feel thirsty, you are already short of water. So don’t wait for thirst before you start to drink. You should try to drink as much water as you lose every day. Mixing a little fruit juice into your water is a fun way to help you drink plenty of water.

The food you eat also makes a difference in how you feel in the heat. Cold foods such as ice cream and drinks with some ice can cool down your bodies. Fruits and vegetables are also helpful to stay cool in hot weather. So plan a healthy menu for a hot day---one that doesn’t need any cooking.                                                                

1.Is it easy to know what to do to feel good on a hot day?

2. Is playing in water a good choice or a bad one?

3.How much water do we lose one day in hot weather?

4.What is a healthy menu for a hot day?

5.What is the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?

根據(jù)中文意思完成句子。

1.讓我們忘記分歧，做好朋友吧。

    ____________________ forget our differences and be good friends.

2.你最好別再浪費時間了。

_____________________________ not waste your time any more.

3. 昨天你沒去聽音樂會，你怎么了？

You didn’t go to the concert yesterday. ____________________________________ you?

4.對不起，但我認為您把車停在這里是不對的。

Excuse me, but I ____________________________________________ park the car here.

5.在科學俱樂部里，孩子們不是忙著做模型，就是忙著解決遇到的難題。

In the science club, the kids are _____________________________________ that they meet.

根據(jù)中文提示內容，寫一篇意思連貫、符合邏輯、不少于60詞的文段。 請不要寫出真實的校名和姓名。

親愛的同學們，初中生活即將結束！在此離別之際，恰逢21世紀英語周刊征稿，請你以 “A/An … Person in My School Life” 為題，介紹一位老師或同學，描述一件發(fā)生在你們之間的、令你印象深刻的事情并談談你的感受。

A /An ________ Person in My School Life

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

— Hi, Mary. Could you lend ______ your pen?

   — Sorry, I’m using it.

   A. I            B. me           C. my           D. mine

It’s very nice to visit New York ______ autumn.

A. in           B. on           C. at               D. of

There ______ little water in the river.

    A. be               B. am           C. is               D. are