Who are the top students in the world, do you know? Last week the Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (经济合作与发展组织) picked the best students in the world. They are Finnish (芬兰的). The OECD gave a test to 280 000 15-year-old students from more than 40 coun­tries and regions (地区) last year. The OECD wan­ted to know how well students were doing at school.
Finnish students were No. 1 in the reading test and second in maths after Hong Kong students. Those from Japan and Finland were top in science. In the problem solving, Finnish students came sec­ond to those from South Korea. The test also showed Finland had more top students than the other countries.
Finns (芬兰人) of your age have done a really good job but don’t have a sense of envy. You can learn from them. Most Finnish students make good use of the Internet. Of course not for computer games, but for doing more exercises and finding out more information.
Libraries are also important. Finland spends a lot of money on them. Many students have a free card. They read for at least one or two hours a day.
What do you usually do on the Internet? How often do you go to libraries?
小题1:Students from which country or region did best in the reading test?

A．South Korea.

B．Hong Kong.

C．Finland.

D．Japan.

小题2:Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Hong Kong students were No. 1 in maths.

B．Finnish students were the first of all the tests.

C．Finnish students did well in the problem sol­ving.

D．Japanese students were top in science.

小题3:From this passage we know that_________.

A．the test can make the students lose their in­terest in learning

B．the test is designed to find out good ways to use the Internet

C．it’s hard to tell who the best students in the world are

D．Finnish students make better use of the In­ternet and libraries

Penguins are lovely animals. Most people like them. But now as many as 10 of the 17 kinds of penguins are in danger of disappearing. The number of penguins has decreased by ( 减少了) 30% since 1987.
Penguins are black and white birds that live in the southern part of the world. They are common in the Antarctic Continent (南极大陆) ,New Zealand, Australia and South America. Many live near cold waters (水域). But some live near warm waters in Galapagos Islands. Penguins  cannot fly, but  they are fine swimmers. The shape of their body helps them to survive. Penguins eat fish and krill  (磷虾). They have short wings that help them to dive up to 900 feet to catch larger fish. They can swim 10-15 kilometers an hour which lets them protect themselves. They also have lots of body oil that helps in keeping them dry in the water.
The warming of the earth is the reason for the decrease in the number of penguins. The hotter and hotter air has caused ocean waters to become warmer. Higher water temperature has decreased the fish and krill. Some years later these birds are completely unable to reproduce. And many adult penguins die of hunger.
Too much fishing, exploration for oil and oil leaks (泄漏) also make penguins be in danger. Poisonous things in ocean waters are another danger. Penguins also have their enemies, including sharks, seals and sea lions.
小题1:Penguins can do the following except________.

A．diving

B．flying

C．swimming

D．catching fish

小题2:Which of the following is NOT the reason for the decrease in the number penguins?

A．The warming of the earth.	B．Too much fishing.
C．Natural disasters.	D．Poisonous things in ocean waters.

小题3:What does the underlined word "reproduce" mean?

A．繁殖

B．灭绝

C．迁徙

D．觅食

小题4: What’s the passage mainly about?

A．Fish and krill have decreased.

B．Ocean waters are polluted.

C．Sharks and seals are the enemies of pen­guins.

D．The decrease in the number of penguins.

Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be confusing (令人迷惑的). A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently discussed their experiences. They decided that miscommunications were always possible, even over something as simple as "yes" and "no".

On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific, Lisa thought people weren’t paying any attention to her. The day was hot. She went into a store and asked, “Do you have cold drinks. The woman there didn’t say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the Woman said nothing. She later learned that the woman had answered her:  She had raised her eyebrows (眉毛), which in Micronesia means "yes".
Jan remembered an experience she had in Bulgaria, a country in Europe. She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, "Do, you have cabbage today?" He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never came. In that country, a nod means no.
Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing~ He soon found out that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways depending on where they come from. You have to know where a person is from to understand whether they mean "yes" or "no".
小题1:These Americans teaching English in other countries found that they ______.

A．should go abroad for vacations

B．needed to learn foreign languages

C．should often discuss their experiences

D．had problems with communications

小题2:People in Micronesia show "yes" by ____.

A．nodding heads	B．raising eyebrows
C．shaking heads	D．saying "no"

小题3:Tom misunderstood his class at first because

A．he did not know much about Indian culture

B．he didn’t explain everything clearly enough

C．some students didn’t understand his questions

D．he didn’t know where the students came from

小题4:Which of the following is TRUE according to(根据) this passage?

A．In Bulgaria, nodding heads means no.

B．Jan taught English on a Pacific island.

C．Lisa was trying to buy some cabbage.

D．In India, only shaking heads means "YES".

小题5:The passage is mainly about _____.

A．body language in foreign restaurants

B．class discussion in Indian schools

C．miscommunication in different cultures

D．English teaching in other countries

Good morning,  boys and girls. Today I’ll talk about going online.
We know that there are too many net bars around us. The Internet can make our lives interesting and enjoyable. Many of us like going online very much because we can learn how to use the computer and can get more information from the In­ternet. We can learn English. We can read some good newspapers and magazines. It can make us clever in playing com­puter games. We can send e-mails to our friends quickly. We can chat freely online with our friends. It can help us to get in touch with people from all over the world.
But every coin has two sides. Net bars also bring us a lot of trouble. For example,  some students spend too much time in playing computer games and some stay in the net bars all day and all night. Some girls even get to have boyfriends or some boys get to have girlfriends online. They write too many letters to each other. It takes them too much time to chat online,  so they do worse and worse in their lessons and they don’t study well any more. I think we mustn’t get online when it is time for us to study. We can do it in summer or winter holidays or at the weekend.
At the same time,  if we have lots of free time,  we can do some out-of-class activities at school. We usually have activ­ities from 4’ 50 to 5- 50 in the afternoon. We can play basketball or football on Monday or Thursday afternoon. We can join some interests groups in school,  such as drawing or reading on Tuesday afternoon,  or singing and dancing on Wednesday afternoon. We can go to the English Corner on Friday afternoon. We hope we can spend more time on our subjects or on such activities.
小题1:Many of us like going online because it can help us_________.

A．learn English and send e-mails	B．get more information
C．play computer games	D．all of the above

小题2:According to the speaker,  in our spare time we should_________.

A．go online for longer time

B．stay in the classroom doing more exercises

C．go to the English Corner every afternoon

D．do more out-of-class activities at school

小题3:If you are free on Tuesday afternoon,  what out-of-class activities can you have at school?

A．Playing basketball or football.	B．Singing and dancing.
C．Drawing or reading.	D．Going to the English Corner.

Imagine there is a bank that puts $ 86, 400 in your account ( 账户)each morning. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank writes off( 注销)the balance that you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Take out every cent,  of course \
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning,  it puts in 86, 400 seconds. Every evening it writes off,  as it is lost. There is no balance or overdraft 透支) . If you fail to use the day’s savings,  the lost is yours. There is no going back. There is no taking from " tomorrow". You must make good use of it so as to get more in health,  happiness and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of today. To realize the value of ONE YEAR,  ask a student who failed a grade; To realize the value of ONE MONTH,  ask a mother who gave birth to a premature( 早产)baby; To realize the value of ONE WEEK,  ask the editor of a weekly newspaper; To realize the value of ONE HOUR,  ask the lovers who are waiting to meet; To realize the value of ONE MINUTE,  ask a person who missed the train; To realize the value of ONE SECOND,  ask a person who just avoided(避免)an accident.
Make good use of every moment that you have. Remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called "The Present".
小题1:The underlined word "balance" in paragraph 1 means_________.

A．平衡

B．贷款

C．余款

D．提款

小题2: What is special about the TIME bank we each have?

A．We can store time in it whenever we like.

B．Someone puts $ 86, 400 in it every day.

C．The time in it will surely get lost if you don’t use it.

D．Someone helps you spend your time every night.

小题3:What can be the best title of the passage?

A．The Bank of Money	B．The Bank of Time
C．The value of one hour	D．The clock is running

小题4: In this passage,  the writer tries to tell us_________.

A．what a bank is	B．how to save money
C．the difference of time units	D．to make good use of time

In the 13th century, Marco Polo travelled a long way to China. He was a famous Italian 31 During his stay in China, he saw many wonderful things. One of the things he 32 was that the Chinese used paper money. People in 33 coun­tries didn’t use paper money until the 17th century. However,people in China began to use paper money in the 10th century. 34     was invented by a Chinese about 2 000 years ago. His name was Cai Lun. He then 35 these pieces of paper together and made them into a 36 .
Now paper mainly comes from trees. We use it every day. 37 we waste a lot of it. If we keep on doing so, people 38 cut down many more trees. Then there will not be any trees left. If there are no 39 , there will be no paper.
So how can we 40 paper? When we mak­ing notes,we can use 41 sides of each piece of paper. We  can  buy  drinks  in bottles instead of 42  in paper packets. We can also use cotton handkerchiefs ( 棉手帕) and not the paper ones.
43  we go shopping, we can use fewer paper bags. If the salesman gives us a paper bag, we can keep it and 44  it later. We can help to protect trees if we think 45 . We should to it now,before it is too late.

小题1:	A．traveller B．actor C．doctor D．driver

小题2:	A．disliked B．disagreed C．invented D．discovered

小题3:	A．Eastern B．Western C．Southern D．Northern

小题4:	A．Iron B．Paper C．Television D．Silk

小题5:	A．collected B．divided C．moved D．put

小题6:	A．magazine B．newspaper C．book D．dictionary

小题7:	A．Sometime B．Some time C．Sometimes D．Some times

小题8:	A．have to B．mustn’t C．used to D．shouldn’t

小题9: A. books         B. trees           C, leaves        D. factories

小题10:

A．make B．use C．save D．buy

小题11:

A．all B．each C．every D．both

小题12:

A．them B．those C．these D．ones

小题13:

A．Before B．After C．As soon as D．When

小题14:

A．repair B．record C．reuse D．return

小题15:

A．carefully B．badly C．quickly D．freely

Children in England mustn’t work until they are 13. They need to have a work permit (许可证) to start working.
The jobs teenagers can do_:
Delivering (递送) newspapers_: Many teenagers will get up early to deliver newspapers to houses in their local area before going to school. They are known as Paper-boys or Papergirls.
Babysitting: Looking after young children in their home while their parents have gone out for the evening is a popular job for teenagers, as they get money for watching children and television all at the same time!
Helping the Milkman: From the age of 14 some teenagers help the milkman deliver milk to houses.
Other popular jobs ： Working in a shop; Office work; Washing cars ; In a cafe or restaurant. The hours teenagers (13 and 14 year olds )can work:
School Days_: Not more than 2 hours in one day during the following periods:
Morning 7 a. m. —start of school or Evening _: close of school— 7 p. m.
Saturdays: Up to 5 hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Sundays_: Up to 2 hours between 7 a.m. and 11 a. m.
Term time_: Up to 12 hours a week (Including weekends)
小题1: In England how old do children have to be before they can work?

A．15.

B．14.

C．10.

D．13.

小题2: Paper-boys and Papergirls deliver newspapers           

A．early in the morning

B．at noon

C．in the afternoon

D．in the evening

小题3:Teenagers in England can do all of the follow­ing except_________.

A．work in an office

B．work in a night club

C．look after young children

D．deliver newspapers

小题4: How many hours a week may teenagers work during the term time?

A．10.

B．14.

C．17.

D．20.

Olympic torch relay (奥运火炬接力) planned route
Beijing, April 27—The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people. The plans were announced on Thursday night. The planned route would last  130 days and travel 137 000 km.
First Nobel Prize winner to donate to Hope School
Chinanews, Beijing, May 10—Professor Dannel Chee Tsui, in the USA, signed the agreement to donate 350 000 yuan to his home town to build a Hope Primary School in China.
Bill Gates receives Tsinghua honorary doctorate
Beijing,April 20—Bill Gates, chairman of global IT giant Mi­crosoft, received an honorary doc­torate (荣誉博士学位) when he
visited China’s   famous   Tsinghua   University   on Thursday.
Big Shaolin kung fu center to be built in Russia
Chinanews, Beijing, April 27—China and Russia have signed a letter of intent ( 意向书)on the building of a Shaolin kung fu center in Russia. It will be the first of its kind in Russia,and also the biggest overseas kung fu center when it is completed.
小题1: How long will the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay last?

A．One month.

B．Two months.

C．Three months.

D．More than four months.

小题2: Who signed an agreement to donate money to build a Hope Primary School on May 10?

A．Bill Gates.

B．Professor Daniel Chee Tsui.

C．Beijing government.

D．Tsinghua University.

小题3: What will be built in Russia according to the news?

A．A university.

B．A sports centre.

C．A Shaolin kung fu center.

D．A Hope Primary School.

Do you want to know something about chil­dren in Africa? What to they do for fun every day? Find out here:
Education
School is expensive for many African children. Lots of families can’t afford school uniforms or ex­ercise books even though they don’t have to pay for school.
For those lucky enough to go to school , they have a lot to learn. Some take two language clas­ses: English or French, and their first language. There is also math, science, history, social studies and geography. Chores take up much of children’s time after school. They have to get water and fire­wood for the family every day. Also there’s clean­ing , washing and helping Mum with the meal.
Daily fun
It’s not all work and no play. Sports are very popular. Children can make goals with twigs ( 嫩树枝)and their own footballs with plastic and bits of string ( 绳子 ). They play in the country and the streets of old towns. There’re many football teams for teenagers in Africa.
Internet
It’s really expensive to get on the Internet. To surf the net for 20 hours costs over 600 yuan. This is more than the average (平均的) monthly pay per person.
Egypt and South Africa are the top two users of the Internet in Africa. All of the capital cities there can get on the Internet.
Some schools offer computer lessons but few students can enjoy computer fun at home.
小题1: The underlined word "Chores" probably means

A．网上冲浪

B．家务杂活

C．体育活动

D．家庭作业

小题2: Sports are very popular in Africa because chil­dren _________.

A．do not need money to play

B．can play all kinds of ball games

C．don’t like to go to school

D．don’t like to do their homework

小题3:The passage is mainly about_________.

A．education in Africa

B．children’s school life in Africa

C．the Internet in Africa

D．children’s daily life in Africa

小题4:From the passage, we can infer (推断) that in Africa_________.

A．basketball is popular among children

B．children in Africa have to pay for school

C．some children in Africa have to take two for­eign language classes

D．people in Egypt and South Africa may get higher pay than people in the other countries

April 27 is a special day in Britain. It’s called Take Our Daughters to Work Day. It was __36__ to Britain in 1994 from America. On that day thousands of girls take a day __37__ school and go with one of their parents to their work places. By doing this, it can __38__ girls more about the society where they live.
Now the girls can have a close look at __39__ their parents are doing. This may help them to be calmer when they have to choose a __40__. Mary experienced a day of work at her mother’s office. This helped her __41__ her mother’s work better. She said that this made her feel more confident about her future.
Schools and many companies __42__ the activity, too. Some schools __43__ make the day a necessary part of school life.
Experts think that girls with more self-confidence are more likely to be __44__ than common girls. __45__ parents can set good examples both at work and at home for them, they will do better than others. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.

小题1:	A．sent B．given C．brought D．taken

小题2:	A．off B．at C．away D．of

小题3:	A．talk B．keep C．teach D．make

小题4:	A．which B．what C．that D．whom

小题5:	A．place B．school C．friend D．job

小题6:	A．thank B．understand C．praise D．remember

小题7:	A．hold B．refuse C．choose D．support

小题8:	A．just B．never C．even D．ever

小题9:	A．successful B．polite C．friendly D．knowledgeable