Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.

Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?

Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.

Reporter: What did you do next?

Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.

Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?

Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.

Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?

Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.

Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?

Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!

Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?

Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.

1.Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.

2.The elephant expert told Chris __________.

3.Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.

4.When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.

We know that trees are useful in our everyday life. They   1   us many things, such as wood, oxygen(氧气), rubber, medicines and many other things. They can   2   tell us a lot about our climate. The following are the reasons. If you cut across a tree, you can   3   that it has many rings. Most trees grow one   4   ring every year. Because of this reason, we know   5   a tree is. A tree over a hundred years old means that it has more than a hundred   6  . When the climate is dry(干燥的) or very cold, the trees do not grow very much and their rings are usually   7  . When it is wet and   8  , the rings are much thicker. If the rings are suddenly very thin or suddenly very thick, this means that the    9   changed suddenly. If we look at the rings on the trees, we can   10   about the climate for a hundred years. We can see how our climate is changing today.

用方框中所给词的适当形式填空，使短文完整正确。

old,  shoe,  stand,  foot,  pick,  small,  feel,  clear,  need,  use

Learn to share(分享)

One day, while I was sitting in my car in a parking area, I noticed a young boy in front of my car. "What is the boy doing?" I asked myself and looked closely. "Oh, he is 1. ________ up a coin from the ground. " When he 2. _______ up, we saw each other 3. ______ , He was not 4.___  than ten and was wearing one blue glove(手套) and One brown glove. His coat was too 5.  ___ for him.

As he walked away, I saw his 6. ________, which were too old to wear, I rolled down my window and called him over.

1 asked him if he7. _____ some money.  He replied, "No. That's okay. "

The parking area was wet, 1 could tell that his 8. ______ were cold because he kept moving his weight from one foot lo the other,

"Please," 1 held Out a five-dollar bill(钞票). "It's not much, but when the money is shared, it is much more 9._______ . " I said.

He look off one of his gloves and took the money from my hand. His small hand was red and cold.

He smiled and went away after saying "Thank you!" to me. That smile made me 10. _____  warm in the cold winter.