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

假设你是Li　Ming，目前在英国参加Homestay夏令营，住在Mrs.　Wiliam家。现在，你需要完成培训老师布置的作业：用英语描述你的房东或房东太太。
要点如下：
1.外貌特征（自己发挥）；
2.和蔼友善，与你相处融洽；
3.经常照顾你的日常生活，如：洗衣等；
4.对中国的历史文化很感兴趣；
5.补充一至两点其他的看法。
注意：
1.词数60-80，文章开头已给出，不记入总词数；
2.文中不要提及你真实的校名和人名。
参考词汇：
friendly　adj.　友善的 culture　n.　文化 get　along　with　与……相处

假如你是Li Lei, 下面是一封你的笔友Maria 给你发来的e-mail,请你根据e-mail 的内容给她写一封回信，与她交流看法，并帮她排忧解难。
　　提示词语：listen to, mother’s love, care about, communicate with, get along with, smile
写作要求：
（1）语句通顺，书写工整；
（2）可用所给提示词语，也可以适当发挥；
（3）词数在60—80词左右
Dear Li Lei,
　　I’m afraid I’ve got a big problem recently. My mother talks too much to me. She always tells me, "Be careful while crossing the street." "Put on more clothes." "Did you do a good job at school?" and so on. I’m annoyed(烦恼)。What shall I do?  
Yours,
Maria
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