“I believe you’re the right person to write an advice column (专栏) for the students called Dear Amy!” Jenny, editor of the school newspaper, said to Andy, who finally agreed to accept the job if Jenny promised not to tell it to anyone else.

   At first it wasn’t too bad. Most of the letters he received were interesting and quite easy to answer. Then came a letter from a person named Joe.

   “Dear Amy,” it began, “I’m in real trouble. I’ve wanted to be a songwriter all my life, but my parents won’t even let me take music lessons. I have a guitar, but they both get angry if I play. I’ve tried explaining, but they won’t listen. I feel sad. Should I run away from home? Maybe that will make my parents agree.” The letter signed “Joe”.

Andy thought about this letter for a long time. Should he advise someone to run away from home? Probably not. But didn’t Joe have a right to be a songwriter if he wanted to? Andy thought hard, but couldn’t think out a good answer. Andy couldn’t sleep. He just worried about poor Joe.

   At a bar a few days later, Eleanor, a girl in Andy’s math class, sat down next to him and asked, “ What’s wrong with you? You look a little worried.”

   “I guess I do,” said Andy.

   “If you got an problem, why don’t you try writing to Dear Amy about it?” asked Eleanor.

   Andy sighed; but she continued, “in fact, I guess Dear Amy is rather busy with other problems. She still hasn’t answered the phony letter I wrote her last week. You’d better read it – it may even make the most hard-hearted person cry! It was supposed to be from a songwriter named Joe.”

1.

2.It’s clear “Dear Amy” ______.

     A. helps students who want to run away from home   B. answers letters from the students

     C. writes songs for the students                   D. meets readers at a bar

3.

4.

5.The underlined word “ phony ” perhaps means ______.

           A. unreal          B. boyish         C. popular       D. favourite

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today's Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.
According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of study.
And this isn't only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45 am on Saturday. Then she has a whole day of classes. On Sunday, she goes to extra classes for math and physics.
But Ji doesn't complain. She says her classmates all work very hard.
Finding time to have fun

Zhao Yang, 13, is from Dalian, Liaoning. As a Grade 8 student, Zhao's weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. "I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like," he said.
Some students are much luckier. They don't have to go to school on the weekend.
Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. And she's a top student.
During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8 am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV.
Ding said her mother once wanted her to try extra classes. But when they asked Ding's teacher about it, the teacher said it was unnecessary.
"My teacher said I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough," Ding said. "I feel pretty lucky."
【小题1】Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours sleep each night because of ___________.

1.This is my_________________ time to come to China. So I feel very excited. ( one )

2.Don’t worry about the _________________ of your children. They’ll be OK ( safe )

3.If you want to get others’ help, you should also learn ________________ others. ( help )

4.A wise man will make more_________________ than the finds. ( opportunity )

5.He was so clever that he worked out the difficult math problem _________________. ( easy )

Most people work or study from Monday to Friday. The weekend is usually a time of rest. But today's Chinese teenagers can hardly rest during the weekends.

According to a survey, 24% of the Grade 8 students in Beijing have classes at the weekend. Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours’ sleep each night because of study.

And this isn't only in Beijing. Ji Chunying is a Grade 9 student in Guangzhou. The 14-year-old girl has to get up at 6:45 am on Saturday. Then she has a whole day of classes. On Sunday, she goes to extra classes for math and physics.

But Ji doesn't complain. She says her classmates all work very hard.

Finding time to have fun

Zhao Yang, 13, is from Dalian, Liaoning. As a Grade 8 student, Zhao's weekend is less busy. But he still spends Saturday in school. On Sunday, after finishing homework, he plays basketball. "I feel happy because I still have time to do the things I like," he said.

Some students are much luckier. They don't have to go to school on the weekend.

Ding Yi, a Grade 8 student from Laiwu, Shandong, is one of them. And she's a top student.

During the weekend, Ding usually gets up at 8 am. Then she spends some time doing homework. After that she is free to go shopping or watch TV.

Ding said her mother once wanted her to try extra classes. But when they asked Ding's teacher about it, the teacher said it was unnecessary.

"My teacher said I don't need to push myself too much. Learning well at school is enough," Ding said. "I feel pretty lucky."

1.Over 40% of the middle school students have less than eight hours sleep each night because of ___________.

A．playing computer games

B．playing with friends

C．busy study

D．watching TV

2.How many students are mentioned in this passage?

A．2.               B．3.                C．4.               D．5.

3.We can learn from the passage that ___________.

A．Some middle school students can enjoy their weekend.

B．All the students in China are busy studying on the weekend.

C．Every student in China has to go to extra classes on the weekend.

D．All the students complain about their busy weekend.

4.The above text may be a _______.

A．a story of science                       B．school notice

C．short play                             D．news report