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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 color 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

Happy Farm is an online game. It is very popular among people in China. The game offers you a piece of empty land and some seeds (种子) at first. You are like the farmer. If your land is small, you can spend some money to make it big. And you must harvest your things on the farm on time, or some other farmers will steal your fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and so on. Of course, you can steal theirs. If you want to make money, you must sell your things out.

Some Chinese websites have offered this game to its users. So far, it is said that about 16 million Chinese people are playing this game. Some people were so crazy (疯狂的) that they even get up in the midnight to harvest their crops and steal others’.

Happy Farm brings happiness to people. It is really a fascinating game. But it also brings many problems. It is reported that a baby died in a hospital just because the doctor didn’t give him timely treatment. Do you know what the doctor was doing? He was playing Happy Farm! There are many stories like this.

1.According to this passage, what is very popular in China?

A. The farmer      B. Happy Farm      C. The Chinese website     D. The Doctor

2.Which is the right order to play the game Happy Farm?

a. Plant some crops.         b. Harvest your crops on time.   

c. Sell your things out.       d. Get land and some seeds.

A. d-b-c-a         B. a-d-c-b       　   C. d-a-b-c         　     D. c-d-a-b

3. Many people are so involved in the game Happy Farm that they get up in the midnight _____.

   A. to harvest and steal crops         B. to chat with others     

C. to sell their things out            D. to read news about this game

4.What does the writer think of this game?

A. It is not interesting at all.   

B. People shouldn’t be crazy about it.  

C. People must get up early to steal crops.

D. People may play it when they are at work.

All living things on the earth need other living things to live. Nothing lives alone. Most animals must live in a group, and even a plant grows close together with others of the same kind. Sometimes one living thing kills another, one eats and the other is eaten. Each kind of life eats another kind of life in order to live, and together they form a food chain(食物链).Some food chains are simple, while others are not. But all food chains begin with the sun, and all food chains become broken up if one of the links disappears.
All life needs sunlight to live on. But only plants can use sunlight directly. Plants are“factories”.They make food from sunlight, water and things in the soil and air.
Plants feed all other living things. Animals can only use the sun’s energy after it has been changed into food by plants. Some animals feed directly on plants, others eat smaller animals. Meat-eating animals are only eating plants indirectly.
What about human beings? We are members of many food chains. We eat wheat, rice, vegetables, fruits and so on. We also eat meat and drink milk. But men often break up the food chains. They kill wild animals. They also make rivers, lakes and seas dirty. When these rivers, lakes and seas are polluted, the fish in them cannot be eaten. If men eat the fish, they will get strange diseases.
Each form of life is linked to all others. Breaking the links puts all life in danger. 
【小题1】How does every living thing on the earth live?
A. Each plant can live alone.
B. Each animal can live alone.
C. Every living thing on the earth cannot live without others.
【小题2】Which living things can use the sun’s energy directly?
A. Animals      B. Plants         C. All living things
【小题3】Who often break up the food chains?
A. Human beings
B. Animals
C. Plant and animals
【小题4】 Which of the following do you think is the best title of this passage?
A. Animals         B. Plants       C. Food Chains    
【小题5】Where can you probably find this passage?
A. In a news report.
B. In your textbook.
C. In a business magazine.

阅读理解

You may know that more people drink coffee than tea around the world. And that, after oil, it is the second biggest traded commodity（商品）. You may also know that the drink comes from beans which are first roasted and then ground. But what else do you know about this popular drink?

It is said that the story of coffee started with an Ethiopian goatherd named Kaldi. One day Kaldi was surprised to see that his goats were behaving very strangely. Instead of grazing（吃草） quietly, they were jumping around, almost dancing. He also noticed some red “cherries” from a plant that the goats were eating. He tried some himself and was surprised by the feeling of extreme happiness and excitement. He felt like dancing too!

But it wasn’t used as a drink at first - it was used as food. The coffee berries, mixed with animal fat, were used by monks to stay awake during long hours of prayer. From Ethiopia, coffee was later cultivated in Yemen and the first hot drink was developed there around AD 1000. Three centuries later Muslims were keen coffee drinkers and as Islam spread, so did coffee. Coffee houses appeared in Cairo and Mecca.

For hundreds of years the plants were protected safely. But some beans were smuggled（偷运）out of Arabia and taken to India. In the 17th century, coffee was soon grown in a new continent. From India to Indonesia, a century later the beans were once again smuggled to Brazil. Brazil is now the largest coffee producer in the world.

It was the caffeine（咖啡因）that made the goats dance and kept the monks awake. Although it is found in other soft drinks and tea, coffee has the most caffeine. In the short term, a couple of cups of coffee can prevent fatigue and delay sleep. But several cups a day, every day, can cause anxiety and restlessness.

1.What is the world’s biggest traded commodity?

A. Oil   B. Coffee   C. Tea

2.Why did the goatherd want to dance?

A. Because he liked to dance with his goats.

B. Because he found his goats behaving strangely.

C. Because he ate some red “cherries” from a plant.

3. Which of the following events came first?

A. Coffee houses appeared in Mecca.

B. Coffee became a drink.

C. Coffee spread as Islam spread.

4. Which sentence is true?

A. Monks were the first to drink coffee.

B. Too much coffee can make people anxious.

C. Brazilians liked drinking coffee the most.

5. Around the world more people drink coffee than tea because _____.

A. coffee berries can be eaten

B. coffee has the most caffeine

C. coffee can prevent fatigue and delay sleep