Three kids have been learning chemistry for only a few months. But they have already begun to challenge (挑战) a world famous scientist!

   Li Weichi, Huang Runling, and Xiao Yan are from Zhongshan Huaqiao Middle School in Guangdong. They have just found a red cabbage that could be a new kind of acid-base indicator (酸碱指示剂). They want it to take the place of litmus (石蕊) paper.

"We've learnt to think of and ask questions about life by ourselves," said Li, "We work well with each other."

   British scientist Robert Boyle discovered the use of litmus paper over 300 years ago. Now it is used widely in experiments all over the world.

   But when the kids did some experiments in class last winter, they saw that the litmus paper didn’t turn very blue with base matter. It's hard to get a clear result.

  Will there be a better indicator than litmus paper? The three kids decided to try and find out!

    How? They went to collect over 40 plants in parks, gardens and markets. Then they ground (研磨) leaves, flowers and stems (茎) to get the pigments (色素) from them.

   The kids mixed pigments with acid and base. They spent months watching carefully to see which paper showed the best colour change. They decided it was the litmus paper!

"It's our first scientific journey, Huang said, "But it makes me want to try harder."

1. Whom did the three kids want to challenge?

A. Their chemistry teacher.     B. Their headmaster.

C. Robert Boyle              D. Thomas Edison

2. From the text, a red cabbage is a kind of ____.

A. plant　　B. animal　　C. paper　　D. liquid

3.What is widely used as the acid-base indicator now?

A. red cabbage              B. litmus paper

C. any plant                D. any flower 

4.The story mainly tells us ____.

A. how to make litmus paper    B. about the three kids' spirit

C. scientists were wrong        D. the kids are heroes

Do you plan to go to Hong Kong Disneyland with your family this summer? If your dad smokes, you may have to ask him to be careful. From January 1^st, Hong Kong banned（禁止）smoking in most public places.　　
These places include restaurants, workplaces, schools and so on. Even smoking in some outdoor places is not allowed, for example, beaches, sports ground, museums and most areas of public parks.　　
　Hong Kong　 hopes the ban can stop passive smoking. What is passive smoking? When people smoke in a restaurant or on a bus, others have to smoke too. They don’t want to smoke but they have no choice. This is passive smoking. It is bad for people’s health.　　
And it’ll be better if more people in 　Hong Kong　 give up smoking because of the ban. Jack Lee, a 26-year-old student says, “The ban is really good. I don’t like people smoking next to me. It’s so smoky and smelly.”　　
If someone breaks the ban, he will be fined HK$5,000.　　
　Hong Kong　 is not the first Asian city to have a smoking ban. On January 1, 2006, 　　Singapore　　 banned smoking in most public places.　　

1. 1.

   Smoking is not allowed             in 　Hong Kong　.　　

   1. A.
      in indoor places
   2. B.
      in most public places
   3. C.
      at home 　　
2. 2.

   Which outdoor place is not mentioned in the passage?　　

   1. A.
      The park
   2. B.
      The beach
   3. C.
      The airport　　
3. 3.

   What’s the purpose of the smoking ban in 　Hong Kong　?　　

   1. A.
      To stop passive smoking.　　
   2. B.
      To stop the sale of cigarettes.　　
   3. C.
      To stop people from smoking.　　
4. 4.

   The example in Paragraph 4 shows (证明)that           .　　

   1. A.
      Jack Lee likes smoking very much
   2. B.
      people in 　Hong Kong　 support the ban　　
   3. C.
      Jack Lee is used to smoking 　　
5. 5.

   What’s the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “fined”?　　

   1. A.
      罚款
   2. B.
      给予
   3. C.
      奖励　

　　Salesman： $73.07，please.

　　Peter： 　 What? Show me the receipt.

　　Salesman： Here it is.

Peter： 　 Look. The price on this shirt is $17. But the receipt says $27.

　　Salesman： You are right. The receipt is wrong.

　　Peter： 　 And what is the $5.57 for?

　　Salesman： That’s for tax（税）.

1. The $5.57 is for the ___________.

         A. tax　　　B. bags　　　C. jacket　　D. shirt

2. When did Peter do some shopping?

　　     A. On June 17.B. At noon.C. On June 25.D.In the morning

Martin is an American boy. He is eight years old. His parents   41  _ five years ago and he is now living with his grandmother in New York.
　　One morning,  Jimmy ,  one of his classmates, came to his home with an exercises book in his hand. Jimmy lives in a house not far from Martin's. They often go to school together.
　　"Would you help me with this maths problem?" Jimmy said as soon as he came into the room. "It's too hard for me and I can't work it out."
　　"Let me try, " Martin said. "I   42  it isn't too hard for me. "
　　Martin tried his best but he couldn't work it out,   43   .
　　"If we had a small computer,  all the problems would be  44   for us to do. " Jimmy said.
　　"A small computer . . . , " Martin thought for a minute,  then he said, "I've got an idea. We can   45  one in a shop. "
　　"A computer is very   46   ,  and we don’t have enough money. "
　　"That's OK, " said Martin. "We can ask the new president (总统)   47  some money. He said he would help anyone in trouble. I' m sure he will help us. He is very rich, you know."
　　So they decided to write a letter to the new president. Soon the letter was finished and they hurried to the post office.
　　In front of the post office stood a small box. They   48   the letter into the box carefully and went home happily.
The next morning, they    49   the post office on their way to school. They found   50  ,  the box was not a post box but trash-box (果皮箱).