閱讀理解

　　Have you ever heard an echo of your voice?

　　An echo is a reflected(反射)sound．Stand in a very large, empty hall with nothing on the walls．Then shout．The sounds you make will hit the walls and come back to you．The walls reflect the sounds．These reflected sounds are called “echoes”．

　　We can use reflected sound to make sound travel farther．Hold a watch about fifty centimeters from your ear．You cannot hear it．The sound of the watch travels a short way in all directions．It does not travel as far as your ear．You can make it travel to your ear by using a roll of cardboard(紙板筒)．

　　Make the roll of cardboard about fifty centimeters long．Put one end over your ear and hold the watch at the other．Now you can hear the watch because the sound has not gone in all directions．It is reflected down the roll to your ear．

　　A megaphone(喇叭筒)works in the same way．It makes sound travel farther．It reflects the sound into a beam which can travel a long way．In the ship, the sailor uses the megaphone to make his voice travel．Without the megaphone, his voice cannot travel far．

　　We use reflected sound in many ways．We use it to measure the depth of the sea, for example．Among the animals, bats and whales use reflected sound to tell them where they are and what things are near them．

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閱讀理解

　　Did you see snow in your hometown last winter? Did you feel it was warmer than before?

　　"There have been 21 warm winters in China since 1986," said scientists．They also said that in the past 100 years, as the global(全球的)temperatures went up by 0．74 °C , the temperature in North China has climbed 1．4 °C in only 50 years．

　　China needs to take quick action to cut carbon dioxide emission(排放)because it's the main reason for global warming．The good news is that China has seen the importance of going green．China set the goal of cutting energy use by 20％ and pollution emission by 10％ in the 11th Five-Year Plan．

　　Can you slow down global warming? Sure! You and your family can take steps to cut the amount of carbon dioxide that is sent out into the air．

　　Here are some pieces of advice to help you save the earth．．

　　Wear used clothes．Wearing your brother's, sister's or dad's old T-shirt means you save the energy．

　　Change your light bulbs(燈泡)．Use energy-saving light bulbs．And don't forget to turn off the lights when you leave a room and turn off your television and computer when they are not in use!

　　Ride the bus．Taking a bus saves a lot of oil every year．

　　Say no to plastic bags．The next time your parents go to the market, ask them to use baskets

　　Open a window．Don't use the air conditioner, and let some fresh air in．When you have to use the conditioner, set the temperature higher in the summer and lower in the winter to save energy．

　　Make small changes in your daily life．Don't use paper cups, bags and boxes．

　　It's time for all of us to do something to save the earth．

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閱讀理解

　　Mom：Daniel, I need to talk to you about your behavior．Dad and I realize there is probably an explanation for why the house is so dirty, but you shouldn't have run out of the room and closed the door so hard like that．

　　Daniel：Mom, I'm sorry, but I was so angry! You want me to act like an adult but you and dad treat me like a child．Why didn't you just ask me what had happened?

　　Mom：Well, I know that grown-ups are supposed to make good decisions but sometimes we make mistakes．We were angry too．None of us stopped to think and we should have．Can you explain to me now why the house was a mess and what you did with the money we left?

　　Daniel：Spot was sick, Mom．Eric and I didn't want to call you and dad on your vacation, so I used the money you left and some of my own to take him to the vet．We stayed there and waited for him all day．That is why we didn't have time to clean the house．

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　　ON April 10, 1912, the Titanic started her first trip from Southampton, England, to New York City, US．The ship was the world's largest and most luxurious(豪華的)one at that time．

　　High-class facilities(設(shè)備)for passengers including restaurants, a library and a swimming pool made the ship like a floating hotel．More importantly, its owners and builders said it was unsinkable(不會下沉的)．

　　However, on April 15, the ship sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and killed over 1,500 people．

　　This April 15, on the 100th anniversary(周年紀念)of the sinking of the Titanic, people in the UK and US will hold activities to remember the event．James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic, was a huge hit all around the world．Now the 3-D film will come to Chinese theaters on April 10．It is a love story between a poor young man named Jack and a rich young woman named Rose on the unlucky ship．In Belfast, UK, the port of the Titanic's birth, a museum called Titanic Belfast will open to the public．

　　Today, the sinking of the Titanic is not just an accident．It has become a popular expression to mean a large disaster or mistake, usually because of too much confidence．

　　In the UK, if somebody says that his or her mobile phone is really great and could never break, others might say, “Yeah, and people said the Titanic was unsinkable．” In other words, no matter how confident or proud people are about something, anything can go wrong．

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　　One day, when I arrived at school, an ice cream truck was parked in the schoolyard．Ice cream men usually drove their trucks to primary schools．I had never thought one ice cream truck would come to bring ice cream to us older kids．When I went up to the truck, I was quite surprised to hear the man call out, “Free ice cream!” To make sure of his words, I asked, “I'm sorry, what did you say?” “Free ice cream．Choose whichever you like．” he said smiling．

　　After I was certain that the man was just giving away the ice cream, I talked with him for a long time．He told me that his dream had always been to travel around giving away ice cream, and that's what he was now doing．With his mother's support, he kept doing what he loved even during hard times．Now, however, some large companies are helping him his plan．

　　The man said he wanted to encourage people to do exactly what their heart told them to do with their lives．I kept asking him, “So your dream was just to drive around and give away ice cream? It seems like a very unusual goal．” “Yes, just meeting people and making them smile,” he replied．At that point he handed me my ice cream．I thanked him, but what I got from him was much more than just an ice cream．It can't easily be expressed in words．I believe what he was doing is exactly what great people do all the time：small acts of big love．

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　　The widespread number of food scandals(丑聞)in China is making many people pause before they put their chopsticks in their mouth．They are wondering if the food they are eating is clean, healthy and nutritious(有營養(yǎng)的)or does it contain(包含)something harmful that will cause diseases?

　　Most of the food we eat today is processed food(加工食品)．That means the foods we buy in stores and supermarkets, especially packaged foods, are prepared in factories．Chemicals are added to the foods in these factories to make them look better, taste better and last longer on the shelf．The chemicals(化學(xué)制品)are supposed to be harmless and there are laws that control which chemicals can and cannot be used．Unfortunately, some producers do not obey the laws．

　　A producer of steamed buns(饅頭)in Zhejiang Province was recently discovered to be breaking the law．He was adding yellow dye(染色)and other banned chemicals to the buns．He was also taking old buns and using them to make new buns．Most of the buns were sold to schools and eaten by students like you．

　　Why did he do it? Why did he break the law and endanger people's health? The answer is simple：he wanted to make more money．It was a moral failing(道德滑坡), and this is at the heart of the food scandals in China．Too many people focus on(集中于)making money and not on the effects their actions can have on others．

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　　CELL phones help us easily find people anywhere at any time．A cell phone can include many things, such as games, music and Internet access．Today, 4.6 billion people around the world have cell phones, according to CBS News．

　　However, cell phones may cause cancer(癌癥), according to the World Health Organization．In a 2010 study, people who used a cell phone for 10 years or more were more than two times as likely to get cancer, according to CNN．

　　The following suggestions may help you reduce your risk of cancer：

　　1．Use a headset(頭帶式耳機)or speaker

　　Headsets give out much less radiation(輻射)than phones．Some wireless(無線的)headsets give out low-level radiation．However, you should take it off your ear when you're not talking to anyone．Using your phone with a speaker will also make it safer．

　　2．Listen more, talk less

　　Your phone gives out radiation when you talk or text, but not when you're listening or getting messages．Listening more and talking less can lower the risk of cancer．

　　3．Hold the phone away from your body

　　Hold the phone away from your body when you're talking, not against your ear．Also, don't keep it in your pocket．

　　4．Choose texting over talking

　　Phones emit(發(fā)出)less radiation to send texts than to carry a person's voice．Texting also keeps radiation away from your head．

　　5．Poor signal? Stay off the phone

　　Fewer signal bars on your phone mean that the phone needs to give out more radiation to work．Make and take calls when your phone has a strong signal．

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　　There are many kinds of cars in this world．My grandfather thinks this is because cars are like their drivers．He says, “Rich people have expensive cars, big people have large cars, and old people drive old cars．” But I don't agree with him．

　　My neighbor, Mrs．Hill, is 82 years old．She drives only on Tuesday, and then she drives only to the bank．She never drives more than 30 kilometers an hour．Do you think Mrs．Hill has a very old and small car? No! Her car is new．It's very large, and it can go 200 kilometers an hour!

　　My friend Mike is an artist．He paints beautiful pictures with lots of colors．But his car is black．Mrs．Bates has a very, very old car．It often has some trouble．Does she drive that kind of car because she is poor? No, she has four restaurants and two million dollars in the bank．My uncle Joe has a very small car．Every Sunday, he drives to the country with his wife, his three children, his mother and his dog．

　　Now, you have read about my friends and their cars．Do you agree with my grandfather? Maybe you have a car．Does it say something about you?

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Diving or Drowning

　　A rich young man decided that he would like to do some diving in the sea, so he bought a rubber suit and all the other things that he needed, and took some lessons at a diving school．Then one day he walked into the water by himself and began to explore the bottom of the sea．

　　He saw a lot of beautiful fish and other things, and then, after half an hour, he suddenly saw a man waving his arms and legs around wildly near the bottom of the sea．He was wearing only a bathing suit．

　　The rich young man was very surprised to see him, so he took out a plastic notebook and a special pencil, which could write under water, and wrote, “What are you doing here?”

　　He showed the notebook to the other man, who then took the pencil and wrote, “Drowning!”

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　　Sally was a student．It was going to be her mother's birthday．She wanted to buy her a present that would be nice and useful but not expensive．

　　A week before her mother's birthday, she went shopping after a quick and simple lunch．When she had been looking for half an hour, she found a shop that was selling cheep umbrellas(傘), and decided to take a black one, since her mother had lost hers the month before．

　　She thought, “You could carry that when you are wearing clothes of any color．” So she decided to buy a lovely black umbrella and took it back to school with her until her classes had finished．

　　On her way back home in the train that evening, she felt hungry because she had such a small lunch that she went along to the buffet car(餐車)for another sandwich and cup of coffee．She had left the black umbrella above her seat in the compartment(車廂), but when she got back, it had gone! When she had left the compartment, there had been no other passengers(乘客)in it, but now there were three．

　　Sally began to cry when she saw that the umbrella was no longer there．The other passengers felt very sorry for her and asked what the matter was．She told them that the black umbrella she had bought for her mother was gone, and that she had to get out at the next station．After the three other passengers heard it, they asked her for her mother's address so that they could sent the umbrella to her if someone had taken it by mistake and brought it back after Sally had got out of the train．

　　The next week, Sally heard from her mother．It said, “Thank you very much for your lovely presents, but why did you send me three black umbrellas?”

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