Read “A Pool near Rajpur” and answer questions 1 to 7.

　　Ranji had been less than a month in Rajpur when he discovered the pool in the forest. It was the height of the summer, and his school had not yet opened; and, having as yet made no friends in this town, he wandered about a good deal by himself into the hills and forests that stretched away interminably on all sides. It was hot, very hot, at that time of the year, and Ranji walked about in his vest and shorts, his brown feet white with the chalky dust that flew up from the ground. The earth was parched, the grass brown, the trees listless, hardly stirring, waiting for a cool wind or a refreshing shower of rain.

　　It was on such a day－a hot, tired day -that Ranji found the pool in the forest. The water had a gentle translucency, and you could see the smooth round pebbles at the bottom of the pool. A small stream emerged from a cluster of rocks to feed the pool. During the monsoon, this stream would be a rushing torrent, cascading down from the hills, but during the summer it was barely a trickle. The rocks, however, held the water in the pool, and it did not dry up like the pools in the plains.

　　When Ranji saw the pool, he did not hesitate to get into it. He had often gone swimming, alone or with friends, when he had lived with his parents in a thirsty town in the middle of the Rajputana desert. There, he had known only sticky, muddy pools, where buffaloes wallowed and women washed clothes. He had never seen a pool like this－so clean and cold and inviting.

1．The first paragraph describes how Ranji went exploring in the forest ________.

[　　]

A．with his school friends

B．after school each day

C．without his parents' permission

D．despite the unpleasant weather

2．In the second paragraph, the writer wants the reader to feel that the pool was ________.

[　　]

A．well-known to local people

B．a delightful place to be on a hot day

C．popular with local children

D．a dangerous place for a boy on his own

3．The word “translucency” indicates that the water in the pool was ________.

[　　]

4．The trees are described as “listless”. This means that the trees were ________.

[　　]

5．Water remained in the pool during the summer because ________.

[　　]

A．the water was clean and cold

B．there were rocks to dam the water

C．trees hung over the pool to shade it

D．the pool was in a cool forest

6．The reader can assume that Ranji ________.

[　　]

A．owned very few good clothes

B．found new experiences difficult to cope with

C．felt homesick for the town where he once lived

D．felt safe wandering in the forests near Rajpur

7．What is Ranji likely to do next?

[　　]

A．chase some buffaloes away from the pool

B．enjoy swimming in the pool

C．tell his parents about the pool

D．wait for his family to arrive

Before you hit ‘Enter’ on MSN, read this
It is often said that the language we use online is less formal than that we use in a letter, or in direct speech sometimes. This is true, but it can also make us in trouble sometimes.
The thing about online communication is that you have no idea what the person who is reading your messages is feeling. For this reason, it is always a good idea to be polite and cautious when writing e-mails or messages to your friends.
Chinese can be a direct language, but in English, people often talk about a subject in another way. So instead of saying “Please meet me here” or “Do this for me now”, English speakers usually go for indirect phrases like “Would it be possible”, “if you have time” or “It would mean a lot to me if…”
If you have a close friend, you may still run into trouble because of your jokes. If you have asked someone to do something and they need a bit more time, you might joke with him: “What? You still haven’t done it yet? What’s wrong with you?” While this seems funny to you, your friend may feel unhappy.
If you have foreign friends in different countries, the time difference can also be a factor. While you are waking up for class on Friday morning, they may be having a party on Friday night. You will be serious and they will, probably, be excited. So don’t be angry if they seem not to care about you. Just try to message them at the proper time.
【小题1】 According to the passage, we learn that our letters are more ______ than the e-mails.