Don’t  you  want to go to school? You could tell your parents you’re ill. But last Monday, students from Shanghai and Zhejiang had an even better excuse: a typhoon(台风)!
Typhoon Khanun hit East China on September 11. In Shanghai, all the school were closed the next day, Monday.
It was the first time that Shanghai had to close schools because of  bad weather.
But some students still came to school that day. “ I didn’t get the notice that the school was closing,” said Shen Sheng, a Junior 2 student from Shanghai Aiguo School. “ But it was nice that we could play in school rather than study.”
The school kept Shen and other 20 students safe inside and let them play sports like table tennis.
But the storm wasn’t all fun games. Typhoon Khanun killed 14 people. In Zhejiang, it damaged about 8,000 houses. More than one million people had to be taken to safer places.
Every year, typhoons hit different places around the world. Most happen in July, August and September. This year 15 typhoons hit China. Khanun was the strongest. Typhoons bring strong winds and rains. The winds can blow away houses and cars. The rains are bad for farmers’ fields.
Typhoon also kills people. Earlier this month, Typhoon Talim hit East and Central China. It killed at least 124 people.
【小题1】When was the first time that Shanghai had to close all the schools?

Kyra Komac，28 years old，now has 25 furniture stores all over the country．The new store，in London’s Camden High Street，takes her back to where it all started．She tells us about how the business began．

    When I was little，my mother began selling flowers in Camden Market．She couldn’t leave me at home on my own，so I had to go to the market with her．

    To begin with，I didn’t have to do anything．I just sat there，and my mum told me jokes and stories so I didn’t get bored．When I got older，I gave my mum a hand and I really enjoyed it．

    Then，one year，my grandma gave me a book for Christmas．It was all about making candles and I loved it．I was 14．and I didn’t have to go to the market any more because mum could leave me at home on my own．I spent my free time making candles of all shapes and sizes．I made hundreds of them．

    One day，my mother was ill so I had to go to the market on my own．I decided to take some candles with me and see if I could sell them．They were sold out in twenty minutes !The next week，my mum gave me some money to buy some wax （蜡） to make more candles．They sold out really quickly，too．

    Nine months later，we decided to stop selling flowers．My mum and I couldn’t make enough candles during the week，so some of my school friends started to help us．I paid them one pound for every candle，and we used to sell them for three or four times that．It was fun and my friends worked with me in the market．

    At the age of 22，my uncle lent me some money and I opened my first shop in Portobello Road．Since then，I’ve never looked back，even in difficulties．In the first store，we only sold candles，but now we sell everything from designer furniture to paintings．Oh，and candles，of course．

1．How many furniture stores does Kyra Komac have now?

2．Where did Kyra’s mother sell flowers?

3．What did Kyra do in her free time when she was fourteen?

4．Did the candles sell well on the first day in the market?

5．Who helped Kyra and her mum when they couldn’t make enough candles during the week?

6．How did Kyra’s uncle help her to open her first shop?

 He helped her ________________________________

7．What do you think of this story? 

    I think ______________________________