Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So, more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By sitting on exercise balls instead of chairs, teachers find students' posture (姿勢) and attention improve.

Dottie Pownall, a fifth-grade teacher in West Virginia, USA, has been using balls as chairs since December 2008. "The students love them", she says. Pownall took a survey of her students. She found that 80% of the students thought sitting on the balls helped them pay more attention to what they were learning.

The teacher, Pisa Witt, felt so strongly about the use of balls as chairs, she started Witt Fitt. This company encourages the use of the balls. And the company educates not only teachers but also students on how to use them. "Our products are used in 24 states, three provinces in Canada, Puerto Rico ('波多黎各) and Japan," says Witt. "Research shows that sitting on the balls makes them sit up straighter. You can slouch (低頭垂肩地坐) on a ball," says Witt, "but it feels awful." Because the students are moving, their blood (血液) increases. That carries more oxygen (氧氣 to the brain (大腦), so the kids have more energy and can focus longer.

"Furthermore, they're fun." says Pownali.

1. What will happen if a student sits on a chair all day in school? The student will _________.

A. pay more attention to his lessons                B. be fun

C. like to move around                         D. sit up straighter

2.How long has Dottie Pownall used the balls?

A. About three years.                       B. Only one year.

C. In 2008.                                 D. Since he was a fifth-grade teacher.

3. In how many countries are the balls used as the students' chairs?

A. Four.        B. Three.           C. Two.         D. One.

4. Teachers choose balls instead of chairs because sitting on balls helps the kids___________.

A. improve the students' posture and attention         B. slouch on the chairs

C. have fun                                    D. Both A and C are correct answers.

5. Which is better for kids to study in class, sitting on a chair or sitting on a ball?

 A. Sitting on a chair.     B. Sitting on a ball.

C. They are the same.    D. We don't know.

A famous building in New York City is turning 100 years old. A year-long celebration is planned for Grand Central Terminal, which is usually called Grand Central station, the sixth most-visited place in the world.

The huge building has not changed much since it opened in February, 1913. About 750,000 people pass through Grand Central every day. Some just come to look at it, others to visit the stores. But most are there to catch the trains that enter and leave from the station. It is the largest train station in the world. There are 67 train tracks, all of them underground.

The main part of the building has large, arched windows, a jeweled four-sided clock and ticket windows. Grand Central has been seen in many movies through the years. Dan Brucker is with the New York Transit Authority, which operates the station. Dan Brucker has worked for the transit authority at Grand Central for 30 years. In all those years, he has not lost his interest in the building.

Justin Ferate, a historian, has been giving tours of Grand Central Station for 30 years. He says the station was designed to make travel a pleasure.

“Why people don't run into each other in Grand Central is simple: each block of stone in Grand Central is the length of your leg. Each block of stone in Grand Central is the length of your arm. Each block of stone is a different color, so it’s a checkerboard, based on you.”   

A ten-year-long fight against plans to build a huge office building over Grand Central in 1968 helped create the modern preservation（保護） movement. Now, no one would think of changing the beauty of the station.

1.How long has Grand Central been in service ?

A．For 30 years.       B．For 10 years.       C．For 45 years.       D．For a century.

2.A lot of people can’t ___________ in Grand Central.

A．enjoy the beauty of the buliding            B．visit the stores

C．take the trains                          D．see movies

3.Which of the following statements about the station is WRONG?

A．It’s in New York City.

B．It’s one of the most-visited places in the world.

C．It’s the largest train station in the world.

D．It has been changed much over the years.

4.Both Dan Brucker and Justin Ferate ___________.

A．have worked for the station for 30 years

B．have given tours of the station for 30 years

C．show interest in the station

D．create the modern preservation movement for the station

5.Which of the following statements can we infer（推斷）according to the passage?

A．The station won’t be changed.

B．People will spend one month celebrating its anniversary.

C．More and more people will catch the trains in the station

D．The station will become larger and larger.

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. “My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly,” said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.

When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.

A bell went off. “Is Clyde your child or your pet?” the officer suspiciously asked. “Well, he’s my cat, of course,” Mrs. Brown replied. “Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS,” said the sppeadeotoned policeman. “Well, who can I report this to?” she asked. “You can’t. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers,” replied the officer.

Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an 8”x11” piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate（州際公路） highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on the billboard for all to see.

“But how can people see it when they whiz（快速移動） by on the interstate?” she asked. “Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves.” They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a month.

The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.

1.How long has the cat been missing?

A．More than a month                      B．More than two months

C．More than three months                  D．It’s been back.

2.Who did the old lady finally turn to for help?

A．A billboard company                     B．The police

C．The phone company                     D．The interstate telephone line

3.How is the old lady like?

A．Stupid            B．Loving            C．Smart            D．Decisive(有決斷力的)

4.The underlined word was mistyped（打錯了）. But we can still guess it’s most probable meaning:____________.

A．a(chǎn)ngry            B．surprised          C．happy            D．excited

5.What’s the best title for this passage?

A．An advertisement                       B．A missing cat

C．A pet’s story                          D．Life without cat

I will never forget the lesson about my window. Four years ago, I moved to a house in a large town. One of my new neighbors’ house was only a few feet away from mine. There lived a woman. Through one of my windows, I could see her reading by her window every afternoon.
Several months later, I found I couldn’t see the woman clearly. I thought her window was too dirty. I said to myself, “Why doesn’t she clean her window? It looks terrible!”
One afternoon, I decided to clean my house including(包括) the window. I felt tired after three hours of hard work. So I sat down by the window for a rest. What a surprise! I could see the woman reading there clearly again! By that time, I realized that my own window was too dirty, not hers! I really felt ashamed for myself. I had been watching her through my dirty window in the past days!
The experience is very important for me. So I try to clean the window of my heart before judging(評判) others.
【小題1】How long has the writer lived in the house according to the passage?
A. Two years.                B. Three years.          C. Four years.    
【小題2】The writer couldn’t see the woman clearly because ______________.
A. the writer’s window was dirty              
B. the woman’s house was too far
C. the woman didn’t open her window
【小題3】The underlined word “ashamed” means _________________.
A. 高興的                    B. 放松的                C. 羞愧的
【小題4】According to the passage, the writer has learnt how to __________________.
A. clean the house           B. judge others          C. help neighbors

We are all busy talking about and using the Internet, but how many of us know the history of the Internet? Many people are surprised when they find that the Internet was set up in the 1960s. At that time, computers were large and expensive. Computer networks didn't work well. If one computer in the network broke down, then the whole network stopped. So a new network system had to be set up. It should be good enough to be used by many different computers. If part of the network was not working, information could be sent through another part. In this way computer network system would keep on working all the time, At first the Internet was only used by the government, but in the early 1970s. universities, hospitals and banks were allowed to use it, too. However, computers were still very expensive and the Internet was difficult to use. By the start of 1990s, computers became cheaper and easier to use. Scientists had also developed software that made "surfing" the Internet easier. Today it is easy to get on-line and it is said that millions of people use the Internet every day. Sending e-mail is more and more popular among young people. The Internet has now become one of the most important parts of people's life.

1.How long has the Internet been used?

A. For over 10 years.                        B. For over 20 years.

C. For over 40 years.                        D. For over 60 years.

2.What would happen when one computer in the network broke down after the new network system was set up?

A. The other computers would wait.

B. The other computers would still work.

C. Some of the others still worked.

D. The other computers wouldn't work.

3.Which of the following used the Internet first?

A. Hospitals    B. Universities       C. Banks         D. The government

4.What is true about computers in the 1990s?

A. They became cheaper and easier to use.

B. They became larger and larger.

C. People couldn't buy them anywhere.

D. People could get information only from them.

5.What can we infer from the last sentence?

A. People will die without the Internet.

B. All people should set up their own network.

C. People live easily without the Internet.

D. People will more and more depend on the Internet.