Around the world, people have different ideas about what good table manners are. If you drop by
your___1___ (朋友的)homes in the United States, it's better to___2___ (到达)on time. When you
arrive, you don’t need to take off your shoes, most Americans___3___ (穿)their shoe in their homes.
But you will be____4___ (期盼)to make yourself at home by your host and hostess. At table, you should get used to eating with a___5___ (刀), a___6___ (叉子), and a ___7___(汤匙), and trying not to be
noisy when eating. It's rude to speak with your mouth full.
     In China people usually reach for food___8___ (用)chopsticks. It's rude to reach across the table
or in front of someone to get something. Besides, when the meal is___9___(结束), you are supposed
to lift your glass and say " ___10___(干杯)" to toast longevity (长寿), good health or success of the
host or hostess.
     Every culture has its own rules, but people all over the world agree that being well-mannered really
means being kind to others and helping others．

       The English language we know today is about six hundred years old. For half that time, English was
  just language of the people living in England. The modem English language grew from about the year
  1400. Now English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is one of the working languages at
   International meetings, business, science and in other fields.
       The differences between American English and British English are not very great. Written English is
  more or less the same in both Britain and America, though there are some spelling differences. For
  example, centre, licence, colour and travelled are spelt center, license, color and traveled in American
  English. In America, "cock, rubber, ill, holiday, lorry and post" are called "rooster, eraser, sick, vacation,
  truck, mail". But people from the two countries can still understand each other easily.
       There are only a very small number of differences in grammar between American English and British
  English. Some words may have two kinds of pronunciation. You may wonder "Which is correct?" The
  answer is that it doesn't matter. But you should speak either American English or British English. Don't try
   to speak both at the same time!

1. When did the modem English language begin to grow?
    ______________________________________________________________

2. Is English the only working language at International meetings?
    ______________________________________________________________

3. What is the word "color" spelt in British English?
    ______________________________________________________________

4. What is the word "ill" called in American English?
    ______________________________________________________________

5. How many differences are there in grammar between American English and British English?
    ______________________________________________________________

     In learning English, one should first pay attention to listening and speaking. It is the ground work of reading and writing. You’d better try your best to speak while you do much listening.
     Don't be afraid of making mistakes.But be careful not to let them stop you from improving your English. While you are doing this, a good way is to write---keep a diary, write notes or letters,  then if you can,
ask some others to go through what you have written and tell you where there is a mistake. Many mistakes in your speaking will be easily found when you write.
     Through correcting the mistakes, you can do better in learning English. If you are slow in speaking, don't worry. One of the helpful ways is reading, either aloud or to yourself. The important thing is to choose
something interesting to read. It mustn’t be too difficult for you.
When you are reading in this way, don't stop to look up the words if you call guess their meanings when
they have nothing important to do with the sentence. You can do that some other time.

1. For the beginners, listening and speaking is ______.
A. more important than reading and writing
B. not so important as reading and writing
C. as important as reading and writing  
D. not so useful in learning English
2. When you are speaking, ______.
A. you should nlllk6 any mistakes    
B. you must speak slowly
C. it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes
D. you’d better take a dictionary with you
3. One of the good ways to find out your mistakes in your speaking is to______.
A. speak as much as possible    
B. write notes or letters
C. ask some Americans to talk with you  
D. read more English books
4. If you want to be fast in speaking, you should choose something ______.
A. difficult to read aloud                
B. necessary to read to yourself
C. interesting to read aloud or to yourself    
D. important to read aloud
5. In reading, if you meet a new word which has something important to do with the sentence, you’d better______.
A. stop to look it up    
B. go on reading
C. stop reading at once  
D. not stop to look it up    

     Chinese team first lands on Antarctic icecap peak (南极冰盖最高点)
     A 12-man Chinese team landed on the Antarctic icecap peak on January 18. They are the first people to reach
the peak of Dome A (海穹A). It is 4,039 meters above sea level (海拔).
     The team built a station there to study the changes of the weather, get ice samples (标本) from 150 meters to
200 meters below, and do other studies. So far, the team has got nearly 100-meter long ice samples from a place
about 300 meters under the icecap peak.
     It is the first time that people have been able to get samples from the icecap peak in Antarctica and it is very
important for people to study the weather changes and environmental changes in this area(地区).
     The Chinese scientists have also built a weather study system (系统) at the peak. The system can send out
information about temperature, how strong the wind is, and many other things about the weather.
     The Antarctic icecap makes up (组成) 70% of the earth's freshwater (淡水). By studying Dome A, scientists
can get the lowest temperature of the earth and other information about the world's weather changes. We can't
get this information from other places on the earth because Dome A is the best place for this kind of studies. So
it is very important to land on the peak of Dome A.

1. How many Chinese first landed on the Antarctic icecap peak?

A. 18
B. 12
C. 150
D. 200

2. The team has got about 100-meter long ice samples __________.

A. from 150 meters to 200 meters below
B. from a place about 300 meters below
C. from 200 meters to 250 meters below
D. from a place about 150 meters below

3. They built a weather study system to get __________.

A. the earth's freshwater
B. ice samples from the peak
C. information about the weather
D. the news about other countries

4. From this passage, we can infer (推断): After the Chinese team landed on the Antarctic icecap peak, __________

A. we can go there for holidays.
B. the world's weather must be better and better.
C. the peak will be the best place for people to live in.
D. our country will do better in the world's weather research.

      When you are curious about something and want to know more about it, you can use the way of asking
questions. Asking questions is the first step to make discoveries and find interesting answers. The following
steps can guide you during the research.
      Step l  Write down the subject that you are interested in on a piece of paper. Just get the main idea down.
For example, you might write: Discover more about robots.
      Step 2  Stop and think for a moment about what you have already known about your subject.
       List what you have already known like the sentences below:
      1. The first robot appeared in the USA in 1959.
      2. A robot can do housework and act as a teacher.
      3. Sometimes a robot catches viruses and causes a lot of problems.
      Step 3 What can you do with what you want to learn?
       By asking questions, start writing down questions about the robots on the paper:
       1. What might robots be like in the future?
       2. What other things can robots do for people?
       3. What kind of power will robots possibly use in five years?
      Step 4 Armed with your list of questions, you can now go to the nearest library or computer to begin
your research. As you learn more about your subject, you'll probably discover some new questions.
      For example, you might discover that robots can help scientists explore dangerous places, like the sea
and outer space. How? What happened? Asking new questions can help you research your subject more
widely.  
      The next time you find something interesting to research, take time to organize your thinking by asking
good questions. And remember that learning more always brings more questions.

1. What does the writer advise us to do when we're curious about something? 

A. To read more books about it.
B. To look it up in the dictionary.
C. To turn to the teacher for help,
D. To raise questions and find the answers.

2. What does the underlined part "Armed with your List of questions" mean?

A. Writing down your list of questions.
B. Discussing your questions with others.
C. Taking your list of questions with you.
D. Putting your list of questions under your arm.

3. What might be the correct order of the steps when you do research?
   ① List what you want to learn.
   ② Find new problems.
   ③ List what you've already known.
   ④ Choose a research subject.

A. ④③①②
B. ④①③②
C. ②③④①
D. ③②①④

4. What might be the best title for this passage?

A. Doing Research on Robots
B. Asking Good Questions While Doing Research
C. Having Interesting Answers on Robots
D. Finding Subjects before Doing Research

     If you watch the sky about an hour after the sun goes down, you may see some "movingstars". But
they're not real stars. They are man-made satellites. And the biggest of all is the International Space
Station ( ISS国际空间站).
     From now until July is the best season to watch the ISS flying over the earth, and people can see it
just with their eyes. The ISS is the biggest man-made satellite because scientists want to live on it. They
think that the best way to learn more about space is to live there.
     When the space station is finished, it will be like a city in space. People will stay and study there with
many of the things they have at home. Laboratories, living rooms and power stations are being built. The
ISS is the most ambitious(雄心勃勃) and expensive space program ever.
     Billions of dollars are being spent on it every year.
     Scientists hope that the ISS will be a stepping-stone (垫脚石) for future space exploration.
     "The ISS will help us better understand the human body, explore space and study the earth. It can
help us make life on the earth better," said Kathryn Clark, an ISS scientist.
     China is not an ISS country, but it has helped with some of the experiments. China sent some rice up
to the ISS to find out what space would do to it.
     The ISS is not finished yet. More than 100 parts need to be put on. Scientists hope it will be finished
as soon as possible. After it's finished, more than 90% of the world's population will be able to see the
Space Station. So keep looking up, and maybe you'll see it get bigger.
1. The ISS is          .
A. a world power station                
B. a man-made satellite
C. an outer space moving star           
D. a stepping-stone to the sun
2. You can watch the International Space Station with your eyes          .
A. an hour before sunset            
B. while flying on the earth
C. in a special room              
D. from now till July
3. The ISS is in fact regarded as          for space exploration.
A. a laboratory        
B. a city      
C. a living room     
D. a museum
4. The passage tells us that            .
A. China belongs to the ISS
B. to build the ISS will cost less in the future
C. China did some research on wheat through the ISS
D. the best way to learn more about space is to live on the ISS

     New rules and behavior standards (行为规范) for middle school students came out (颁布) in March.
Middle schools are going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. The best students won't only
have high marks. The following are some of the new rules.?
     Tell the truth. Have you ever cheated (作弊) in an exam? Don't do it again! That's not something honest
students should do.
     Do more at school. Good students love animals and care for other people. April is Bird Loving Month in
China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join! In that way, you can learn more about
animals and how to protect them.?
     Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought people could live on the moon? Maybe you'll find another
earth in space in the future. Everyone's new ideas are important.
     Protect yourself. Has a thief ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you.
If you have to go back home late, you should let your parents know.
     Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your study. But some things on the Internet
aren't for kids, so try to look at the good web pages. You can use the web pages for fun or homework.?

1. When did the new rules and behavior standards for middle school students come out?
    _________________________________________________________________________.
2. What should the best students do in an exam? ?
    _________________________________________________________________________.
3. What should you do if you have to go back home late?
    _________________________________________________________________________.
4. What can the children use the good web pages for? ?
    _________________________________________________________________________.
5. What is the right attitude (态度) to new ideas?
    _________________________________________________________________________.