Mrs. Green is telling her experience：

The brain is the most amazing part of our bodies．But just like our bodies，it needs care．Getting a good night's sleep．eating a balanced diet（均衡飲食）and taking deep breaths are all important ways of looking after both your body and your brain.

Many people think their brain will slow down with age and their memory will get worse．The truth is，just like your body，you can also improve your brain．I've found I can improve my memory by picturing what I need to remember．For example，if I'm going shopping and I need bread milk and a birthday card for my brother，I picture a loaf of bread，a bottle of milk with a cow in the front and a birthday card with a football on it．

The same kind of thing can be used with important dates．If you have a picture in your mind of a special event（事件），it's much easier to remember than just a number．

Another way of improving your mind is to make sure you often visit new places and have new experiences．I find learning Spanish is a great way to keep the brain working，but communication in any language is important．

1．What is the woman’s main aim in telling her experience?

A．To explain how the brain works．   

B．To talk about problems with the brain．

C．To describe how clever she has become．

D．To tell ways to make the memory better．

2．How does the woman improve her memory?

A．By doing some medical research．   

B．By looking after her body．

C．By picturing what she needs to remember．

D．By doing a lot of shopping．

3．What does the woman say about her own memory?

    A．It has been possible to make her memory better．

    B．She finds dates more difficult to remember than numbers．

    C．It has got worse over the years．

D．She often forgets birthdays．

4．Which would be the best title for the passage?

    A．Easy ways Io improve your mind

    B．The latest research into the brain

    C．The amazing power of memory

    D．How to remember things you thought you'd forgotten

Arbor Day All over the World

All Over the world，people are planting trees，caring for them, and learning about their value．A special day was set aside for planting trees．

Here in the United States，we call this tree-planting festival Arbor Day．In Japan，it is called Greening Week In Israel it is called the New Year's Day of the Trees．Korea has a Tree-Loving Week．Iceland has a Student's Afforestation Day．This means “to change open land into forest”．People in India celebrate a National Festival of Free Planting．Whatever people call this special time of year．they are saying that trees are important to us all．

    Arbor Day began in the United States in 1872 in Nebraska．J．Sterling Morton，a newspaperman，knew how important trees were to the land so he began the idea．The state（蛩）offered prizes to the groups and people who planted the most trees．On that first Arbor Day，the people of Nebraska planted more than one million trees．Today，Arbor Day is celebrated in all 50 states and around the world．

    Why trees are so important to us all：

    *Trees give us shade（樹蔭）to keep us and our homes cool on hot summer days．

    *Trees give off oxygen which you and I and animals need to breathe

    *Trees reduce（減少）noise pollution．

    *Trees provide a home and food for wildlife（野生生物）．

    *Trees are beautiful to look at，nice to listen to，fun to explore，exciting to climb，and great to stream under．

1．We can infer（推斷）from the article that the writer is from___________．

A．America               B．Japan                   C．Israel                     D．Iceland

2．Which is true about the first Arbor Day?

    A．It began in Nebraska，India．

    B．A book writer first thought of the idea．

    C．J Sterling Morton planted the most trees that day．

    D．The people who planted the most trees got the prize．

3．What is the importance of trees?

A．They keep us cool on hot days．   

B．They give off oxygen we breathe．

C．They provide a home and food for wildlife．

D．All of the above．

4．In China，we celebrate Tree Planting Day on __________.

A．March 2nd           B．March 12th            C．April 2nd         D．April 12th

Computer games are very popular．It is natural to want to win，so playing against a computer or against a friend on the computer can be difficult to stop “Just one more game，”often ruins into another game then another．

    Computer games do have their advantages．They are excellent for training． hand-eye coordination（協(xié)調(diào)）．Surgeons（外科醫(yī)生）today who played computer games as children are often more skilled than those who didn't．Computer games can also be great for teaching students．The students are open to learning while playing and can study for longer than a teacher would be able to teach．Students can also learn at their own speed and not feel pressured（有壓力的）to match classmates．And practice makes perfect．

    But like anything else in life，things should be balanced．Too much time on the computer can hurl．your eyes．Regular breaks（間歇）are needed．If students cannot stop playing computer games，they won't do as well in other areas in their life-not just schoolwork，but in developing important social skills such as how to talk with people and how to work with others as part of a team．And if they aren't taking regular exercise their health will suffer（受苦）．

    Computer games have their place，but people must also remember to lead well-balanced lives．

1．Computer games are good because________．

A．they train us to be good with our hands

B．they can replace teachers completely

C．they are good for our eyes

D．computers are cheap

2．Surgeons who played computer games as children may___________．

A．make worse surgeons   

B．make better surgeons

C．be no better than surgeons who didn't

D．be happy to do an operate on

3．According to the text，which of the following is not a disadvantage（缺點(diǎn)）of computer games?

A．The effect（影響）on our health．   

B．The effect on social skills．

C．The effect Oil our eye-hand coordination．

D．The effect on our eyes．

The greatest wonder of the natural world

    When I arrived．it was early morning and it was raining．I got out of the car, went through a gate and walked along a path．In the east，the sky was becoming light，but beside the path，it was still very dark．I knew it was there，but there was nothing to see

    After about a kilometer，a stranger appeared in front of me．“And I going the right way?”

I asked He knew where l was going．”Yes，”he replied，”you’ll there in five minutes．” Finally，I came to seine rocks．and stopped．I looked carefully over them, but it was still too dark to see anything.

Suddenly，the clouds cleared and the rain stopped The sun rose behind the and beyond the rocks．I saw that the ground fell away and down to a river，far below rile．I was on the edge of the Grand Canyon（峽谷），one of the wonders of the natural world．

I looked down to the Colorado River about 2 kilometers below me．If you put the three tallest buildings in the world at the bottom of the canyon，they still won't reach the top．Then I looked across to the other side of the canyon．How far is it? It's 20 kilometers, maybe more．Finally，I looked to my left and to my right，and on both sides the canyon disappeared into the distance …over 400 kilometers long．The Grand Canyon is not just big It's huge．

    That morning on the edge of the canyon，I asked myself a question．It's not “How deep is it?” or “How wide is it” Or “How long is it?” but “Is the Grand Canyon the greatest wonder anywhere in the natural world?” I know the answer．

1．Where may the passage come from?

A．A guidebook．                                        B．A grammar book． 

C．A dictionary                                               D．A diary．

2．Why was there nothing to see?

A．Because there was nothing．                    B．Because it was too dark．

    C．Because it was raining                              D．Because it was in the morning．

3．Where was the writer facing on the edge of the Grand Canyon?

A．To the south．                                        B．To the north   

C．To the east．                                             D．To the west

4．What is tile writer's purpose in writing this passage?

    A．To give facts about the Grand Canyon

    B．To tell how he feels about the Grand Canyon．

    C．To describe the Grand Canyon．

    D．To tell people to visit the Grand Canyon．

Mike Robinson is a 15-year-old English schoolboy．His sister Clare is l4．At the moment，Mike and Clare are at a school in Sydney, one of the biggest cities in Australia. They have been there for two years．They like the school，but they know that soon they will leave and return to England with their parents．

    Mike and Clare have also been to schools in America, Germany，France and China．This is because their father, Peter, works for a very big international company．The company has offices in many different countries．The company has sent Peter to work in many different countries．Peter usually stays in one country for about two years Then the company moves him again．His family always goes with him．

    The Robinsons are a happy family and love seeing the world．Mike and Clare have learnt to speak French，German and a little Chinese. The two children have friends all over  the world But they are glad that they are going to return to England．Recently，the children told their parents．”We want to stay in England. We don't want to move again．”Their father agrees and has asked his company to keep him in England．The company has agreed．Mike and Clare are very happy about this．

1．What countries have the Robinson family lived in?

2．Where does the company have offices?

3．How long does Peter stay in one country?

4．Why are Mike and Clare very happy?

Four foreigners in Britain talk about the people and the country…

Nicolac from Romania works in a pub

“British people like children，but they don’t let them go to the pubs（酒館）or restaurants In my pub we have a rule：’No children under 12’．People in Britain drink a lot of coffee and beer．”

Alexandra from Russia is a student

“This is not a good country for smokers! Many coffee bars and restaurants are ‘No Smoking’．I live with three British students and they don't smoke．When l want to smoke，I must go to the garden”.

Carlos is a teacher from Spain

“People read tile newspaper everywhere-on the train，on the bus，at the bus stop．Cars stop in Britain when you stand on the zebra crossing．Cars don’t stop for you in lily country．”

Marillia from Brazil works for a British family

“I think my British family is typical（典型的）The woman doesn’t cook，but she watches cooking programmer on TV every day The man cooks at the weekend He makes very nice food．”

1．If your sister is 15 years old, can she go to the Nicolac's pub?

2．Where must Alexandra go if she wants to smoke?

3．What do British people often do on the train or bus?

4．What programmes does the woman watch every day in Marillia’s British family?

In 1912 Gaffet A．Morga was worried about the large number of fires in the factory of his city．He wanted to make something that would protect the people who had to fight the fire. They were often hurt．Sometimes they were killed by gas and smoke．They needed something that would help them put out fires quickly and safely．

    Morgan developed the safety hood（頭罩）. It was a hood to be worn over the face. Two tubes ran down the back leading to an air trap（空氣收集器）of clean air below．This hood allowed the firefighters to remain in smoke-filled rooms longer and with less danger.

On July 25．Cleveland，Ohio was rocked（震撼）by an explosion（爆炸）．The explosion trapped（困住）thirty-two workers in a tunnel（隧道）under Lake Erie. Morgan was called to help．Morgan and his brother，Frank，and two other men put on safety hoods. They went into the tunnel．They brought out all the workers．who were still alive．For his help，Morgan received medals（獎(jiǎng)牌）from the city of Cleveland and the International Association of Fire Engineers．

    Morgan improved this safety hood in 1917 T11e11 in 1923，he made something else to help make the world safer for people．Morgan invented the first electric traffic signal.

1．What led to the invention of the safety hood?

2．What is paragraph two mainly about?

3．Why was Morgan called to help the people trapped in the tunnel?

4．How many people went into the tunnel except Morgan?

5．What was invented in 1923 by Morgan?

Antarctica is the highest continent on Earth，with the coldest temperatures anti the most wind．People have never wanted to live there because it is so cold．The（A）_________ temperature once was －89.2℃! But now scientists from all over the world come to study the ice．They want to（B）learn more about the Earth's history．

Some scientists live on Antarctica for part of the year．But they don't usually stay there for more than six months．Why? There are six months of light and six months of darkness .

Antarctica usually has a good deal of fine weather（C）_________any wind at all．The strong winds are usually only in seine parts of it. It is also interesting to learn that it isn't very wet there（D）There is very little snow or rain．It snows on the ice Ill winter，but at other times Antarctica is dry，just like the Sahara Desert

    In winter the sea around Antarctica （E）changes into ice for thousands of kilometers．But scientists tell us that（F）地球在變暖．So in future，there may be less ice ill the Antarctic sea When that happens．our weather will never be the same again．

1．分別在A和C的空白處各填入一個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)脑~：

2．寫出可以替換劃線部分B和E的同義詞或近義詞：

3．將劃線部分D改寫成__________  __________ snow or rain alot．

4．將劃線部分F譯成英語

5．寫出能說明本文主旨大意的中心詞語：