It is getting colder by the day. When I was putting out my autumn clothes, a brown woolen*  sweater caught my eye and reminded       of this time last year.

It was on a cold morning that my mother came into my bedroom with the sweater. She said it was rather cold outside and asked me to wear it to school. “I spent the whole        weaving* the sweater,” she told me.

   The sweater was so unfashionable and       that I was not pleased with it. After mom went out to work, I         the ugly sweater to a corner. I would rather catch a cold than wear it. I thought my classmates would laugh at me. I       a thin uniform and went to school.

   Before I walked into the classroom, I heard Lana’s voice: “Look at my overcoat. My father bought it in Hong Kong.” Connie said: “My scarf is      , too”

   I looked through the window and was surprised to see all the girls in colorful winter clothes        me. They showed their clothes to each other and laughed     . Suddenly, I felt inferior* to them.     wasn’t my family as rich as theirs? I wanted to wear beautiful clothes, too.

  A strong cold wind blew and I sneezed. During class I felt terrible. The       said I had caught a cold. “ You should wear thick clothes today, ” she said. I suddenly thought of my mom. She said the same thing to me      I didn’t listen.

  As soon as I got home I fell asleep on the sofa. I     of a woman weaving. She was my mother! She spent the whole night making a sweater for me. But I neither thanked her nor wore it.

  When I opened my _______, my mother was smiling at me. Her eyes were full of worry and care. I held her in my arms. “Sorry, mom, I should        have complained about that sweater. ”

   Two days later, I wore the warm and comfortable woolen sweater to school. Some of my classmates laughed at me. But I didn’t      . I know mom’s love is more important than money.

1.A. me                B. him         C. her           D. you

2.A. morning            B. afternoon          C. night       D. day

3.A. comfortable          B. beautiful    C. ugly     D. thin

4.A. threw                B. gave      C. stored      D. showed

5.A. put up               B. put on           C. put off      D. put away

6.A. cheap         B. expensive      C. usual           D. soft

7.A. with          B. without       C. except     D. against

8.A. sadly         B. quietly            C. luckily               D. happily

9.A. How          B. Why      C. When       D. Where

10.A. doctor             B. reporter        C. actor            D. player

11.A. and         B. but            C. so            D. or

12.A. heard              B. talked             C. thought             D. dreamed

13.A. books              B. doors              C. windows         D. eyes

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

15.A. care                 B. agree              C. refuse    D. realize

In winter，when the sun hides behind the clouds，everyone feels a bit low. You may be tired and find you want to sleep all the time. What you may not know is：you are suffering from (患有) SAD(季节性抑郁症)．

But don't worry—it's normal. Colder temperatures and fewer hours of daylight can steal your energy and put you in a bad mood.

Read on to find out what SAD is and what you can do to help yourself or those around you.

These days，Linda，a US teenager spends most of her holidays sleeping instead of doing sports outside. She has also had trouble concentrating(集中精力) on her homework. When her mother asks her what's wrong，Linda doesn't know what to tell her. Linda may not realize it yet，but she's suffering from SAD. It causes people to sleep，eat sweet food and get sad or angry for no reason.

About 15 percent of American people now suffer from SAD in winter according to the US Department of Health. The US government has taken measures to help people beat it. Local communities encourage people to take part in activities such as exercise，dance or art. And they advise people not to eat too much sweet food.

Like in the US，cold northern European countries such as Finland，Iceland and Russia see a large number of people suffer from SAD every year. So，the sunlamp is widely used in these countries. It's an electric lamp which is just like a “little sun” that gives off light to make people think the sun is shining and feel better.

1.Colder ________ and less ________ are the main causes of SAD.

2.Linda is feeling ________ and doesn't ________ doing sports because she's suffering from SAD.

3.      people suffer from SAD in        northern European countries.

4.In some northern European countries，the ________ is widely used to make people feel____ .

5.Taking an active part in ________ and eating ________ sweet food can help people beat SAD.

It is a cold and dry winter morning. When you wake up, you feel that your throat hurts. You begin to sneeze and later you may cough. You must have a cold! Wait a moment. Could it just be a common cold or the flu (流感) that’s been going around?
A cold gives you a runny nose and cough. But it’s usually easy to deal with. Some take medicine while others drink herbal tea or chicken soup. Usually you feel better after a week.
On the other hand, the flu can be much more dangerous. It usually gives you fever. Sometimes it can cause death. According to an American magazine, the worst flu killed about 50 million people from 1918 to 1919.
Don’t worry. If you get a flu vaccine (疫苗), it can stop you from getting the virus (病毒). Flu vaccines work by giving the body a small amount of flu viruses. This causes your body to develop antibodies (抗体). So next time you get the flu, the antibodies should help you.
The flu virus changes every few years. Therefore, there are so many types of flu, such as H1N1 and H5N1. The antibodies for one type of flu can’t help us against all types of flu. That’s why we need to get the vaccine every year.
However, good health habits may also help stop you developing a cold or flu. Washing your hands often helps stop you from getting viruses. It is also important to get regular exercise and eat healthy food. All these can help you strengthen your immune system (增强免疫系统).
【小题1】If you have a common cold, usually you’ll feel better after ________.