Put 2 February in your diary! It is World Wetlands Day! It marks the date that the

Convention(公约) on Wetlands was signed(签署)in1971.This special day was first celebrated in 1997 and it is celebrated every year.

　 The celebration is a call for action. It is a way to show people how important and

useful the wetlands are for people. On World Wetlands Day, people around the world take

part in many wetlands activities. People take trips to the local wetlands. There are talks

about how important the wetlands are. People get together to clean up their local wetlands

Children draw pictures to advertise the day. People also compete(比赛)in boat races.

　 The World Wetlands Day is important! If there are no wetlands, there will be no water for anyone in the future. Wetlands help protect nature and resources(资源)like fresh water. Already, more than 10000 million people in the world do not have fresh water.

　 Many people do not know how important the wetlands are. They can understand why an

elephant or a tiger is important because they are big, beautiful animals. It is much harder for

them to understand how important the animals in the wetlands are. These small animals,

such as frogs and snails, play a very important part in keeping the balance of nature.

　 All plants and animals are part of the food chain(链).If the small wetlands animals

die, some animals in the food chain will have nothing to eat. They will also die. People

need the wetlands to keep the balance of nature in the world. If we do not protect nature

today，it will be gone tomorrow.

46. What should you put in your diary?

　 A. Some frogs.

　 B. The date of World Wetlands Day.

　 C. 1971

　 D. Any special day.

47. Where do people celebrate World Wetlands Day?

　 A. All over the world.　　　　　　　　　　　 B. In ships

　 C. At home.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. In their own way.

48. Which of the following sentences is NOT true?

　 A. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by taking part in competitions.

　 B. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by taking hips to local wetlands.

　 C. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by listening to talks about the wetlands.

　 D. People celebrate World Wetlands Day by talking about the weather.

49. Why are small animals important?

　 A. They are part of the balance of nature and the food chain.

　 B. They are beautiful.

　 C. Bigger animals are eaten by them

　 D. Without them, there may be no water.

50. Which of the following might be the best title of the article?

　 A. Wetlands Are Important

　 B. Small Animals Are Also Important

　 C. World Wetlands Day

　 D. Food Chain

America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real，yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two，perhaps a few letters for a while— then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance，even years later，they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand，because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings，extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes，share their holidays，and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives，they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes，we，as hosts，will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans，however，express their welcome usually at homes，but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes，the welcome will be full，warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans，it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants，except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!
【小题1】Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?　　

We drink tea every day. But more than three hundred years ago most of the people in Europe (欧洲) did not know anything about tea. Some people heard about it, but very few of them know what to do with it.

　　There is a story about an English sailor (水手) who went to countries in the east，the west and the south. He went to India and China. One day he came home and brought some tea as a present for his mother. She told her friends about the present and asked them to a “tea party”. When her friends came to the “tea party”, the old woman offered (给) them brown tea-leaves (茶叶). The old woman’s friends began to eat them. Of course, nobody liked the tea-leaves.

　　At that time the sailor came in. He looked at the table and said, “Mother, what have you done with the tea?”

　　“I boiled (煮) it，as you said.”

　　“And what did you do with the water?”

　　“I threw it away, of course.” answered the old woman.

　　“Now you may throw away the leaves, too.” said her son.

(    ) 1. Most of the people in Europe ________.

　　　  A. drank tea every day 300 years ago        B. drink tea every day

　　　  C. know nothing about tea               D. like to eat the tea-leaves

(    ) 2. One day the English sailor brought his mother some tea from ________.

　　　  A. countries in the west                   B. countries in the south

　　　  C. India or China                       D. a tea shop in England

(    ) 3. The sailor’s mother asked her friends to her house, because ________.

　　　  A. the sailor told her to

　　　  B. she wanted to ask her friends what to do with the tea

　　　  C. she liked to show off (炫耀)

　　　  D. she wanted to sample (品尝) the tea together with her friends

(    ) 4. At the “tea party”，________.

　　　  A. all the woman’s friends spoke highly of the tea

　　　  B. nobody knew what to do with the tea

　　　  C. the woman offered her friends some dried (干的) tea

　　　  D. the woman gave her friends each a glass of tea water

(    ) 5. What mistake did the old woman make? She ________.

　　　  A. boiled the tea                       B. did as the sailor said

　　　  C. poured away the water                D. didn't throw away the tea-leaves