Allow me to give you a little advice about writing stories. First, make your characters believable.
  Make sure that they do and talk just like real persons. In real life, everyone is unique. If all your
  characters speak the same way and do things in the same way, you'll lose your readers from the start.
       Once your readers believe in your characters, you must get them to care. Each reader must be able
  to know at least one character, to almost become that character in his or her mind.
       Now it's time to write your story. First, make a plan. Your readers are part of the story now; they are
   in your story.
       One last thing. Your story must touch the readers' emotions. If you can make them laugh and cry
  along with your characters, you will be a successful writer.

1. What's the Chinese for "characters" in this passage?

A. 人物    
B. 情节    
C. 故事    
D. 小说

2. What does "unique" mean here?

A. 众所周知的      
B. 闻所未闻的
C. 一模一样的      
D. 独一无二的

3. The meaning of "emotions" should be _____ according to the context.

A. 想法    
B. 情感    
C. 思路    
D. 观点

      Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes (基因) decide. In fact, because you have two
parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If
both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall
you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.
      But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to
your full potential (潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.
      No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer.
Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start
puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up). 
     Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches
there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and
what other changes your body may be going through. 
     Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt (高峰)
during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or
later — between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.
     You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show
the first changes of puberty.

1. The Chinese for the word "puberty" is _____.

A. 童年时期
B. 婴幼儿时期
C. 习惯养成期
D. 生长发育期

2. If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, _____.

A. you should have enough exercise
B. you can ask doctors for help
C. you should save the environment
D. You can record your growth during puberty

3. This passage is mainly about ______.

A. how the genes work in your body
B. when is the time you grow fast
C. why you look like your parents
D. how you grow to a certain height

4. After reading this passage, we can explain ______.

A. how good it is to be a doctor
B. how much sleep time we need
C. why genes can't decide everything
D. what healthy diet is

5. Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.
B. Girls' age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys'.
C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.
D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

     Each year, many Chinese people go abroad because of all kinds of reasons. They are becoming younger
and younger year by year. Even some Chinese parents send their children to foreign countries when they are
only in a middle school. They think their children can get a wider view, less academic (学业) competition or
family honor. But life can be bad for young people there. At first, they have to face the culture differences
and language problems. However, these are not always the most difficult things to overcome (克服). To best
children, controlling (管理) themselves well is a big challenge when studying alone in strange country.
     Yu Yang, a 15-year-old student from Guangdong Province studies in a high school in Toronto, Canada.
To his surprise, his teachers there seldom push students to study abroad. And usually there isn't too much
homework. Students have lots of free time to do the activities. Some of his friends spend their whole year's
money in the first two months of the new term. So they have to ask their parents for some more money.
     On the one hand, studying abroad can help students learn foreign languages quickly and en up their eyes,
but on the other hand, some children may feel lonely, become bad, lose themselves, etc. Many problems may
happen to them. These are different from their original thoughts. So parents should think them over before
their children go abroad.

Answer the questions according to the passage.
1. Why do Chinese parents send their children abroad?
    ______________________________________________________________________
2. What do the students have to face in foreign countries at first? 
    ______________________________________________________________________
3. Controlling themselves well is a big challenge, isn't it? 
    ______________________________________________________________________
4. Do students in Canada have more free time than those in China? 
    ______________________________________________________________________
5. What's the article mainly about? 
    ______________________________________________________________________

     Ivan Fletcher loves crazy inventions. He writes a weekly magazine column (专栏) called Unbelievable
Inventions.
     "One of my favorite inventions is the Butter Stick. It looks like a glue, but it's butter. You spread it on
the bread without using a knife," he says. "Another cool invention is Duster Slippers for pets. You put these
special shoes on your dog or cat. As the animal runs around your house, it collects dust from the floor. Very
useful!" A lot of these inventions come from Japan-the home of the crazy invention.
     Ivan says that the British also invent a lot of crazy things. "The other day I found an invention called a
Cat Seat Saver," he says. "The Cat Saver looks exactly like a sleeping cat-but it isn't real. You put it on your
seat if you have to go to the rest room. No one will sit in your seat because they think there's a sleeping cat
on it. Pretty cool!"
     However, does anyone buy these things? Yes. Lucy Wade from the shopping website crazygadgets.com
says that their customers are young, professional people.
     "They buy these small things mostly for fun," she says. "They are usually looking for a present for a
friend's birthday or a silly girl for someone they work with."
     If you have an idea for an amazing invention, send it to Lucy at lucyw@crazygagets.com.
     Fish Radio
     This useful radio is completely waterproof, so you can listen to it in the shower. Simply stick on the
bathroom wall and sing along to your favorite songs as you shower!
     Watch Your Back Mirror
     Don't get caught surfing the Internet or sending e-mails to your friends. Stick this mirror to your computer
screen and you'll be able to see when the boss is coming!

1. One of the inventions that Ivan Fletcher likes best is _____. 

A. the Fish Radio
B. the Butter Stick
C. the Watch Your Back Mirror
D. the Cat Seat Saver

2. You put the Duster Slippers _____.

A. on your pet's feet
B. on your feet
C. on your pet's head
D. on the floor

3. The Cat Seat Saver _____.

A. is a special mirror
B. is a chair for cats
C. looks like a real cat
C. collects dust from the floor

4. Why is the Fish Radio useful?

A. It is shaped like a fish.
B. It sings your favorite songs.
C. You can listen to it in the shower.
D. It is small enough to put in the bathroom.