Have you ever thought of taking a train and having an adventure (奇遇)？Riding the train can be a real adventure.That is how I feel every time I take Amtrak.I often take a four?hour trip to visit my children.Every time I take this trip I never know what will happen.

Last week when I was on the train and over an hour into the train ride，there was a man sitting by himself in the back of the train carrying on a mobile phone conversation— in another language.It was loud and disturbed most of the people on the train.I think it was annoying.

Fortunately I sat next to a wonderful old lady who was taking a two?day trip by train.She said her two daughters were distraught at the thought of her driving for three days to reach her home，although she had no trouble driving.The train ride was the only choice for her.She loved to look out of the window and watch the world go by on the train.

She was fun to talk to and asked me when my children started being parents.That is a very good question.Both of us are old and have children.She asked that same question from time to time.

There are always many people on the train from all walks of life，different countries，and many languages.Riding the train is a great way to increase your knowledge and take in all kinds of cultures.If you get hungry，you can buy food in the food car at any time.If you need to use the restroom there is always one available.

It sure beats driving the car，which has to stop for food and restrooms.And it is better than taking the bus.

1．According to the passage，the purpose of the author’s train ride was________.

A．to do business　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．to see her children

C．to visit places of interest 　　　　　　　　　 D．to see her old friends

2．Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “distraught” in Paragraph 3?

A．Disappointed. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．Satisfied.

C．Worried. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．Pleased.

3．Which of the following is TRUE about the old lady sitting next to the author?

A．She is too old to drive now.

B．She does not like to take trains.

C．Although she is old，she has a good memory.

D．Her daughters live far away from her home.

4．In the author’s opinion，on the train Amtrak________.

A．the services are quite good

B．the food is terribly expensive

C．all the passengers are polite

D．all the passengers are American

5．What is the best title for this passage?

A．Train ride—a cultural experience

B．A painful experience on the train

C．The history of Amtrak

D．A wonderful lady

Do you still remember the terrible earthquake in 2008 in Sichuan, which killed at least 87,000 people and left millions homeless? On the twelfth day after the earthquake, Premier Wen Jiabao said, “A new Wenchuan will rise from the ruins（废墟）.” Now his words have come true. Three years has passed and the worst-hit areas in Sichuan have risen from the ruins.
So far, 95% of the reconstruction projects（重建项目）have been completed. Nearly 3,000 schools, 1,000 hospitals and more than 5 million homes have been built. Now everyone has been provided with a home, a job and social security（社保）.
Dong Xinjun, a villager in Qingchuan, said volunteers from Zhejiang taught him how to grow mushrooms and now he makes about 3,000 yuan more than before every year.
Zhu Lihu, the headmaster of a village primary school in Qingchuan, told us that teaching equipment had been greatly improved. Now they have new classrooms, a library and a computer room with 20 computers.
On May 8th, 2011, Premier Wen Jiabao made his 10th visit to Sichuan Province after the earthquake. He visited a lot of middle schools and neighborhoods. At Beichuan Middle School, Premier Wen embraced a student named Zheng Haiyang, who lost both of his legs in the earthquake. The students told Premier Wen that their new school was very beautiful. And they would never forget that it was built with the hearts and strength of people across the whole country.
Premier Wen believes that the people in Wenchuan have a “strong will” and a “bright future”. They will never back down, but stand bravely on this land.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Nearly 1,000 schools have been built.

B．Dong Xinjun makes about 3,000 yuan every year.

C．Zhu Lihu’s new school has a new large gym.

D．Zheng Haiyang is a student of Beichuan Middle School.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “embraced” mean in Paragraph 5?

A．Put arms around him in a loving way.

B．Shook hands with him in a friendly way.

C．Bowed to him in a very polite way.

D．Smiled at him in a very kind way.

【小题3】How does the passage show us “Wenchuan has risen from the ruins”?

A．By giving facts and examples.

B．By comparing different places.

C．By describing people’s looks.

D．By using volunteers’ words.

A student newspaper reports that most students go to sleep at 1:30 am. Even if that’s an overstatement (夸张), it’s close to the truth. Scientists say teens should sleep nine hours each night. But that’s hard. Some are even “pulling all-nighters” (开夜车). These students must hand in their homework the next day but they haven’t done it. In the morning they don’t look healthy and you can tell who’s been doing it. One of my classmates did a survey on the topic. She found that most kids pull all-nighters to finish homework, but some do it for other reasons, such as playing computer games!
Maybe our lack(缺乏) of sleep is because of laziness — I think I’m a rather lazy student — or maybe it’s because we have too much to do in American high schools. I usually go to bed around midnight. If I stayed up past 1:30 am, I wouldn’t get any work done. I’d be falling asleep at my computer. My classes begin at 7:30 am. I’m partly awake in my first class. By the second, I’m a little sleepy. By my third class, I’m sleepy. By midday I’m finally fully awake. But by 3:00 pm, I’m slowing down again. Yet I get more sleep than usual students.
Most American high schools seem to have a similar(相似的) problem with sleepy students. High school classes start at 7:30 am, so students have to get up one and a half hours before that to get ready and catch the bus. It’s believed that lack of sleep can be bad for both grades and health. Some schools are paying attention. Classes in those schools start at 8:30 am.
【小题1】What does the underlined sentence “it’s close to the truth” mean?

A．It doesn’t tell the truth.	B．It is quite true.
C．It is impossible.	D．I don’t think it’s right.

【小题2】Why do most of the teens have to stay up late?

A．They play computer games.	B．They watch videos late.
C．They have to do a lot of housework.	D．They have to do a lot of homework.

【小题3】When do students in most American high schools have to get up?

A．At 7:30 am.

B．At 6:00 am.

C．At 9:00 am.

D．At about 7:00 am.

【小题4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the reading?

A．The writer usually stays up past 1:30 am.

B．The writer usually goes to bed around midnight.

C．The writer usually does a survey.

D．Many American students don’t get enough sleep, so they can have high grades.

【小题5】What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Something has to be done to solve the problem of students’ lack of sleep.

B．Many American high school students are sleepy in class.

C．Many kids have too much homework to do.

D．Students can’t play computer games.

Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy.  After all，you probably sing or whistle when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However，they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a 'territory' is? A territory is an area that an animal，usually the male，claims(声称)as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same kind are welcome. Your garden and house are your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten(威胁)you，you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so，you have actually scared the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time，especially at nesting(筑巢)season. So he is screaming all the time，whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird's song，and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.
Birds sing loudest in the spring when they are trying to attract a mate and warn others not to enter the territory of theirs..
You can see that birds have a language of their own. Most of it has to do with attracting mates and setting up territories.
【小题1】 Some scientists believe that most of the time bird's singing is actually _______.

A．away of warning	B．an expression of happiness
C．an expression of anger	D．away of greeting

【小题2】What is a bird's "territory"?.

A．A place where families of other kinds are not accepted.

B．A place where a bird may shut at the top of its voice

C．An area for which birds fight against each other.

D．An area which a bird considers to be its own.

【小题3】 Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?

A．Because they want to invite more friends.

B．Because they want to find outsiders around.

C．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away.

D．Because their singing helps remove their fears.

【小题4】How does the writer explain bird's singing?

A．By comparing birds with human beings.	B．By reporting experiment results.
C．By describing birds' daily life.	D．By telling a bird's story.

Have you ever rubbed your hands together when they get cold? Why do we do that? We do that for friction. Friction happens when two things that aren’t very smooth rub together to make heat energy. The faster you rub two things together, the more friction (and heat) you can make. Let’s discover friction!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: ● Soap           ● Water          ● Your hands! WHAT TO DO: 1. Make sure your hands are dry. 2. Rub your hands together until you feel the heat of your hands. 3. Now, use soap and water to get your hands very slippery (滑的). 4. Try to make friction happen while your hands are slippery. 5. Please write down what has happened. LET’S TALK! Friction is an energy that happens when two things rub together. When friction happens, it makes heat! When your hands are slippery, they won’t make very much friction and your hands won’t get so hot. DID YOU KNOW? 1. Friction happens when you stop your fast running bike. 2. Ancient people made fires by rubbing two pieces of wood together. Friction happened though they didn’t know it.         ?        Friction is everywhere. Have you ever noticed situations where friction is happening? If not, ask your parents to take you out in a car. If it is not too hot, touch the tires (轮胎) of the car before and after a short drive to see how much warmer they get from friction.

根据表格内容，选择正确答案。
【小题1】 You’d better make your hands                 to get heat when you rub them.

A．slippery

B．dry

C．wet

D．smooth

【小题2】 What does the word “friction” in this text mean in Chinese?

A．摩擦

B．冷却

C．膨胀

D．震动

【小题3】                        is NOT an example of friction.

A．Bike riding

B．Car driving

C．Hands rubbing

D．Friction discovering

【小题4】 What’s the last column (栏目)?

A．THINK IT OVER!	B．WHAT HAPPENED?
C．EVERYDAY ACTION:	D．WORK WITH PARENTS!

【小题5】This text is most probably                         .

A．a science report	B．a car advertisement
C．a rubbing introduction	D．a chemistry programme