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.

1.When the Western Hemisphere is having day,  the Eastern Hemisphere is having ________.

　　A. both day and night　　　　　　　B. day

　　C. neither day nor night　　　　　　D. night

2.A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by ________ of the earth.

　　A. the pushing　　B. the pulling　　 C. the spinning　　D. the passing

3.．At the equator day is as long as night ________.

　　A. sometimes　　 B. never　　　　 C. usually　　　　D. always

4.When the North Pole is tilted toward the sun,  the Northern Hemisphere gets ________ sunlight.

　　A. less　　　　　B. more　　　　 C. all　　　　　　D. no

5.．When it is winter in China,  ________.

　　A. the USA is tilted toward the sun

　　B. the South Pole is tilted away from the sun

　　C. the North Pole is tilted toward the sun

　　D. the North Pole is tilted away from the sun

 

 

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.

（   ）6.When the Western Hemisphere is having day, the Eastern Hemisphere is having ________.

　　     A. both day and night              B. day

　　     C. neither day nor night            D. night

（   ）7. A place is moved from day into night and from night into day over and over by ________ of the earth.

　　     A. the pushing                    B. the pulling

C. the spinning                    D. the passing

（   ）8. At the equator day is as long as night ________.

　　        A. sometimes     B. never       C. usually        D. always

（   ）9. When the North Pole is tilted toward the sun, the Northern Hemisphere gets ________ sunlight.

　　    A. less           B. more       C. all            D. no

（   ）10. When it is winter in China,  ________.

　　    A. the USA is tilted toward the sun

　　    B. the South Pole is tilted away from the sun

　　    C. the North Pole is tilted toward the sun

　　    D. the North Pole is tilted away from the sun

 

Helping your children to read and write at home will improve their skills and confidence—it will also make them get ready for learning in the classroom environment.

　     　 are needed by every child in every subject in every year of their life in or outside school. Students who improve their reading and writing skills will increase their vocabulary and their ability（能力）to use the English language correctly. As parents, you can play an important role in improving your children’s literacy（读写能力）. You can make a difference by listening, asking questions, giving information, and reading with your children outside school hours.

Here are 8 tips on how to help your children to read and write:

²  having everyday conversations with your children

²  trying to ask more “wh-” questions instead of easy “yes” or “no” questions

²  encouraging your children to talk about events you don’t know

²  reading to your children each night

²  listening to your children read

²  teaching your children how to use dictionaries

²  talking about your children’s writings

²  practicing filling in forms, writing letters, sending cards or emails

You can also encourage your children to join the Reading Challenge Club and discuss the books they are reading together. In the club, children must read 15 books from the Challenge book list and 5 more books chosen by themselves. There are over 1,000 books on the list. The reading must be done in one year. What’s more, it is a wonderful way to help your children to write. For example, you can encourage them to write diaries or book reviews. Remember to make positive comments as much as possible.

 

1.This passage is mainly written for __________.

A. children             B. teachers         C. parents          D. doctors

2.__________ is the best for the missing part in Paragraph 2.

A. “Listening and speaking skills”              B. “Reading and writing skills”

C. “Listening and writing skills”               D. “Reading and listening skills”

3.__________ is NOT mentioned in the 8 tips above.

   A. “Listening to the radio every day”        B. “Listening to your children read”

   C. “Reading to your children each night”     D. “Talking about your children’s writings”

4. In the Reading Challenge Club, children have to read __________ in one year.

A. 5 books              B. 10 books         C. 15 books         D. 20 books

5. Parents can help children to write by encouraging them to__________.

A. draw pictures or take photos             B. listen to pop music 

C. write diaries or book reviews                D. play computer games

 

My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.

One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”

I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.

　　Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”

1.Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the  first paragraph?

A．preferred to stay alone at home

B．refused to go to school

C．refused to talk to others

D．began to dislike his mother

2.There was silence on the other end of the line because _ _________.

A．the caller was too moved to say anything to the mother

B．the caller waited for the mother to finish speaking

C．the caller didn’t want the mother to continue her talk

D．the caller was unable to help the mother

3.Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?

A．The headmaster.	B．The school adviser.
C．Karl himself.	D．The passage doesn’t tell us.

4.From the passage we can learn that _____________.

A．children in single – parent families always have mental problems

B．mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life

C．parents should give their children as much help as possible

D．school education still works well without support from parents

 

 

It's the end of class. When the bell rings, students of Luohu Foreign Languages School in Shenzhen quickly take out their cell phones. They want to log on* to their micro blogs to check the interesting things that have happened in the last hour.

　　Since last year, the trend* of micro blogging has swept the country. Recent surveys shows that most students in middle schools have a micro blog and some even update* their blogs over five times per day.

　　"We learn many fresh and interesting things on micro blogs and they have become popular topics in class," said Andy Liang, 14. "If you do not know about them, you are out of the loop."

　　It is also a great place for students to let out stress. "My parents always ask me to study all the time, and encourage me before exams, but it really adds pressure," said Simon Zhang, 15. "When I share these feelings on my micro blog, I get many replies from friends in the same situation, which makes me feel better."

　　But parents are worried that micro blogging could be a waste of time. Some misleading messages may even cause danger to kids, they said.

　　Mr. Shen, a professor at the China Education Association, suggests parents not worry too much as long as kids are not crazy about micro blogging. Maybe it can become a window for parents to understand their children. "If parents can read their children's micro blogs, they'll know their thoughts, thus leading to better communication and solutions to problems," he said. He also gives some tips for kids.

　　---Don't micro blog for more than one hour a day.

　　---Never micro blog in class.

　　---Try to talk face to face with people from time to time.

　　---Be critical*. Don't trust all the messages on a micro blog.

1.The underlined part "out of the loop" in the passage probably means                 .

　　A. not popular    B. not excited    C. unhealthy        D. unlucky

2.Micro blog made Simon       when he shared his feelings and got replies on his micro biog.

　　A. feel sad       B. let out stress   C. add pressure      D. make friends

3.We can know from Mr. Shen that micro blogging can                  .

　　A. make kids crazy while logging on to it        

 B. bring a lot of misleading messages

　　C. become a window to understand young kids      

D.lead to worse communication

4.Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

　　A. It's good for kids to micro blog for more than one hour a day.

　　B.Kids should trust all the messages on a micro blog because they are useful.

　　C.The trend of micro blogging has swept the country since five years ago.

　　D. Kids should try to talk face to face with people, not just micro blogging.