As my friend was passing some elephants，he suddenly stopped．He was confused by the fact that these huge animals were being held by nothing but a small rope．The rope was tied to their front legs． It was       that the elephants could break away from the ropes at any time．But for some         ，they did not．
My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these elephants just stood there and didn't        to get away．
“Well，” he said，“when they are very           and much smaller，we use the same size rope to tie them．At that age，it's enough to hold them．As they grow up，they are used to         that they cannot break away．They believe the rope can       hold them，so they never try to break free．”
My friend was amazed．These animals could at any time break free，      because they believed they couldn't，they were stuck right where they were．
Like the elephants，how many of us go       life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something，simply because we      at it once before? How many of us are being held back by old，outdated        that no longer serve us?

根据短文和首字母填空（每题0.5分，共5分）

Bill and Simon were good friends. One summer they were on h___1____.They wanted to sail around the Caribbean Sea in their boat for two weeks. During their trip, they saw many whales. Bill and Simon were very e__2___ because they wanted to see them very much. Unluckily, w_3____ they were watching them, the whales began to hit the side of the boat.

Suddenly, w___4__ started coming in, and they realized that they were in trouble. They q__5___ jumped into the lifeboat before the boat sank(沉没), and watched it disappear under the sea.

Luckily, they had enough food and water for about twenty d__6____. They also had a fishing line and a machine which could change sea water i___7__ drinking water. These two things helped them to survive during their terrible experience.

For the next fifty days they caught about ten fish a day and a__8___ them. They saw about twenty ships, but although they waved and shouted when the ships were passing , n__9___ saw them. They were becoming weaker and weaker. Then just as they were beginning to l___10___ hope,a fishing boat saved them.

　The word“day” has two meanings. When we talk about the number of days in a year,  we are using “day” to mean 24 hours. But when we talk about day and night,  we are using“day” to mean the time between sunrise and sunset. Since the earth looks like a ball,  the sun can shine on only half of it at a time. Always one half of the earth is having day and the other half night. A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by the spinning（旋转）of the earth. At the equator（赤道）day and night are sometimes the same length（长度）. They are each twelve hours long. The sun rises at 6 o’clock in the morning and sets at 6 o’clock in the evening. For six months the North Pole is tilted（倾斜）toward the sun. In those months the Northern Hemisphere（半球）gets more hours of sunlight than the Southern Hemisphere. Days are longer than nights. South of the equator nights are longer than days. For the other six months the North Pole is tilted away from the sun. Then the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. Days are longer than nights. North of the equator nights are longer than days. Winter is the season of long nights. Summer is the season of long days.
【小题1】When the Western Hemisphere is having day,  the Eastern Hemisphere is having ________.

Whenever the house gets quiet, Mrs. Smith knows just where to find her 6-year-old daughter Maria: lost in the world of stories.
“I like to read every time of the day,” said Maria, a student at Creel Elementary School in Australia.
Maria’s headmaster, Mrs. White, wants each of her 850 students and their families to learn the love of reading this year. She wants reading at home to become an activity of choice in every family, even during holiday breaks. “I truly realize reading should be an important part of everyone’s life, and nothing should stop it.” said Mrs. White.
“The aim we want most of all is to help children understand they can enjoy reading, as well as practice their skills,” said Hannas, an education researcher. He suggested parents take their children to the library and allow them to pick out books that interest them.
Each night, students take home two books to read with their parents or other family members. They have to return the books the next day with a signed note from their parents showing that the books were read, and have passing tests that check how well they understand the books.
“We’re trying to get parents into the habit of reading with their kids.” said the headmaster. “Nothing is better than sitting on a sofa with your child and reading and laughing.”
Through books, Mrs. Smith, a parent, said she’s able to give her two daughters more experiences than she could.
“I think reading opens all the doors and creates imaginations in children,” she said, “I think if you read well, you can succeed in anything in life.”
【小题1】The aim of the at-home-reading activity is to __________.