Height is just one of the thousands of features your genes decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you're going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.

But genes don't decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential(潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

No doubt you're wondering how fast you should grow. It depends. There's no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 2 inches (6 centimeters) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimeters here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you're at now, how you've been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.

Don't be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt（高峰）during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later ----between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You'll usually begin to notice that you're growing faster about a year or so after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty. 

1.. The Chinese for the word “puberty” is 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. 童年时期          B.婴幼儿时期        C.习惯养成期        D. 生长发育期

2. If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow, _____.

   A. you should have enough exercise   B. you can ask doctors for help

   C. you should save the environment   D. You can record your growth during puberty

3. This passage is mainly about 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how the genes work in your body           B. when is the time you grow fast

   C. why you look like your parents                D. how you grow to a certain height 

4. After reading this passage, we can explain 　　　　　　　　　.

   A. how good it is to be a doctor             B. how much sleep time we need

   C. why genes can’t decide everything            D. what healthy diet is

5. Which is NOT mentioned in the passage?

   A. Your height most probably depends on how high your parents are.

   B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

   C. The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

   D. You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

 

 

Every day in China, about 200 million children go to school. Many of them take school buses. What should we do to keep these students safe on the road?

On April 5, the State Council (国务院) published new rules about school bus safety. These new rules are much stricter than the old ones.

Under the new rules, local governments must make sure that students attend nearby schools or boarding (寄宿的) schools to reduce traffic risks. Also, local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.

From now on, school buses have a speed limit of 80km per hour on highways and 60km per hour on normal roads. While on the road, other cars must let school buses go first.The new rules also say that school buses must never be overloaded (超载的).  

There are many other rules as well. A school bus must have more than seven seats. On each bus, there must be at least one adult to keep an eye on the kids. Each school bus must have a fire extinguisher (灭火器), a first aid kit (急救箱) and a GPS.

Last year, a series of school bus accidents happened in China. To stop such accidents, the Central Government decided to strengthen the rules for school buses.

The most serious accident happened in November in Gansu, when a nine-seat minibus crashed. There were 62 children inside, and 21 of them died.

1.Under the new rules, which of the following is NOT true?

A. School buses must not be overloaded.

B. School buses must drive 80 km/h or less on normal roads.

C. School buses can go first when there are other cars.

D. local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.

2.The phrase “keep an eye on” in Paragraph 6 has a similar meaning to “_______”.

   A. look after            B. play with            C. look for     D. chat with

3.According to the new rule, a school bus must have the following EXCEPT ______.

A. a GPS

B. more than seven seats

C. a parent of one of the students

D. a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit

4.The government made new rules for school buses because _______.

A. 21 students died in school bus accidents last year

B. the government encourages all students to take school buses

C. 200 million children in China go to school by bus every day

D. school buses in China were not safe enough before

 

Recent research from the Pew Internet Project suggests that 90% of Americans aged from 12 to 17 use the Internet, and 51% of those teens use social networks. However, there are many possible problems with social networking sites and the teenagers who use them.
Apart from the social advantages, social networking sites can be used to record school research, develop artistic talents and experiment with other forms of subject creation. They provide a way to communicate with others who share the same interests and to get helpful advice on ongoing projects.
Along with these advantages come some dangers. For example, most social networking sites are open to all, especially MySpace, which is the most popular social network among teens in America. It means that they could be put in unpleasant and frightening situations.
A greater danger is that teens may become objects of the people with secret purposes. The secrecy of some social networking sites makes it easy for dangerous people to find young teens and invite them into dangerous conversations. It’s easy for them to pretend as teens and draw children into dangerous real-world communication as well. Then further hurt might be on its way.
Another danger is identity stealing, which can happen when teens share too much information about their names, dates of birth and locations.
Therefore, it’s very important to make sure teens are safe when they use social networks.
Many of the same rules that work for online chat work for these sites:
※ Don’t use your real name.
※ Don’t give out personal information to people you don’t know. A last name and a town are enough for a bad guy to find where you are.
※ Don’t believe that people are who they say to be.
※ Immediately end any communication that makes you uncomfortable and report it to a parent.
Only if you are sure of your safety, can you enjoy the fun brought by social networking. Besides, trying to deal with all problems on your own can lead to terrible results. Remember, asking your parents or school officials for help doesn’t mean you are unable to do anything but wiser than many others.                                             
【小题1】How many dangers of using social networks are mentioned in the passage?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

D．5.

【小题2】The writer takes MySpace as an example to show that ________.

A．students could be put into unreal situations on the Internet

B．teenagers are facing unknown dangers on the social networks

C．Internet provides more social websites to American teenagers

D．social networks are very popular among teenagers in America

【小题3】We can infer from the passage that ________.

A．the dangers are similar when chatting online and surfing social networks

B．more than half American teenagers aged from 12 to 17 use social networks

C．teens who ask for help are wiser when meeting problems on social networks

D．there are more disadvantages than advantages for teens to use social networks

Height is just one of the thousands of features (特征) that your genes (基因) decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then maybe you will be tall, too, but if you have questions about how tall you’re going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find it out.
But genes don’t decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential (潜力). Getting enough sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the right height.
No doubt you’re wondering how fast you should grow. There’s no perfect or right answer. Kids grow about 2 inches (5 centimetres) a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty (when your body starts changing and becoming more grown up).
Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. Two centimetres here and 2 inches there are not nearly as important as the height you’re at now, how you’ve been growing up to this point, and what other changes your body may be going through.
Don’t be scared if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a very quick growth during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later – between 7 and 13 for girls, 9 and 15 for boys.
You’ll usually begin to notice that you’re growing faster about a year after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.
【小题1】The Chinese for the underlined word in the third paragraph “puberty” is           .

A．童年时期

B．婴幼儿时期

C．习惯养成期

D．青春期

【小题2】If you want to know how fast and how tall you should grow,          .

A．you should have enough exercise

B．you can ask doctors for help

C．you should protect the environment

D．you can record your growth during puberty

【小题3】This passage is mainly about            .

A．how the genes work in your body

B．when is the time you grow fast

C．why you look like your parents

D．how you grow to a certain height

【小题4】After reading this passage, we can explain ___________.   

A．how good it is to be a doctor

B．how much sleep we need

C．why genes can’t decide everything

D．what an unhealthy diet is

【小题5】Which is NOT mentioned (提及) in the passage?

A．Your height most probably depends on (取决于) how tall your parents are.

B．Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

C．The time showing the first changes of puberty is never noticed.

D．You may be scared sometimes when you grow too fast.

Everyday is afraid of something.
Tommy, 11, is afraid of the dark. Rachel ,11, is most afraid of the big jellyfish （水母）in Australia. Morgan, 9 ,wishes she would stop being afraid to ride a bike on busy streets.
What’s fear ? Fear is a feeling that everyone has, and that’s a good thing because fear is there to protect us . When the fear comes ,it  means we may meet something dangerous.
For the fear of dark , a kid could have much imagination .What’s under my bed ? Is there someone
breaking into （闯入）my house ? With the help of a parent , kids can get more comfortable in the dark. Using a night light to see that there’s nothing there can also help fight that fear.
For other fears ,we needn’t fight . If you’re afraid to ride your bike on a busy street ,you’re right ! You should be afraid because it’s dangerous. There’s no need to fight a fear like that . Find a better place to ride.
It’s also ok for Rachel to be afraid of the big jellyfish because it’s really dangerous . But it lives only in some waters. So when she’s not swimming in one of them ,there should be no worries about the big jellyfish.
Here is some advice about fighting fears from kids.
Monique,10, says when you are scared, just think about happy times . Eight-year-old Jessica finds that taking a deep breath helps when you’re scared. Amanda ,10, thinks kids should talk with a parent . Dustin ,11, likes to talk with a group of friends.
【小题1】What is Rachel afraid of ?

A．The dark.

B．Talking with others.

C．The big jellyfish.

D．Riding a bike on busy streets.

【小题2】In Paragraph 4, the writer gives ________ way(s) of helping kids fight the fear of dark.

A．one	B．two
C．three	D．four

【小题3】According to the writer , ________ needs to fight his/her fear.

A．Tommy	B．Rachel
C．Morgan	D．Dustin

【小题4】Which piece of advice is not mentioned about fighting fears ?

A．Talking with others.

B．Taking a deep breath.

C．Thinking about happy times.

D．Regarding fears as challenges.