Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.

Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.

One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.

However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.

Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.

1.Lake Victoria is __________.

A. an important lake in Africa

B. the largest lake in the world

C. the source of water, food and power for America

D. the only source for the Nile River

2.What does “It is shrinking” most probably mean?

A. It is becoming larger.

B. It is becoming more beautiful.

C. It is becoming smaller.

D. It is becoming more useful.

3.The water level of Lake Victoria is now __________.

A. 2.5 meters     　B. 11.9 meters              C. 14.4 meters          D. 9.4 meters

4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Rain water is the only source for the lake.

B. There has been little rain in the lake area since 2000.

C. The power plants in Uganda provide water for the lake.

D The power plants in Uganda were made larger in 2000.

5.According to the passage, how can we solve the problems around Lake Victoria?

A. People must build more power plants.

B. More sources of water must be found.

C. Every country should offer some money to Africa.

D. All the people living in the area should move to another place.

 

—You are always talking about your pet cat. What does it look like?         　　

—     .　　

A. It likes fish      B. It’s small and white   C. It likes playing with me　

 

"Earworms", some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no clear reason you cannot help yourself from humming or singing a tune by Lady Gaga.

To a psychologist, the most interesting thing about earworms is that they show a part of our mind that is clearly outside of our control. Earworms arrive without permission and refuse to leave when we tell them to. They are parasites (寄生虫) living in a part of our minds.

If you have got an earworm you can suffer an attack of it simply by someone mentioning the tune, without having to hear it. This proves that earworms are a part of long-term memory. Humans have an "inner ear", for remembering phone numbers, for instance. When it gets infected with earworms, rather than review our plans for the day, or lists of things to remember, the inner ear gets stuck on a few short bars of music or a couple of phrases from a song. A part of us that we normally do not have to think about, that should just do what we ask, has been turned against us, upsetting us with a request that we never asked for. The mind is an inner world which we do not have complete knowledge of, or have control over.

Fortunately psychology can provide some advice on how to deal with an uncontrollable mind. Consider the famous "don’t think of a white bear" problem, which tells you to try not to think about white bears, or to do something else, to avoid both thinking of the white bear and not thinking of the white bear. For earworms, the solution may be the same. Our inner ear has become infected with an earworm. This is a part not under our control, so just sending in instructions to "shut up" is unlikely to be of much help (and has been shown to make it worse). Much better is to employ the inner ear in another task. If your mind is poisoned by Brittany Spears’ Toxic, for instance, then try singing Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head. Let me know if it works!

1.According to the passage, earworms are ______.

A．songs that keep going round in our mind

B．worms that live in a part of our brain

C．tunes by pop singers like Lady Gaga

D．parasites clearly under our control

2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Singing songs may get earworms out of your head.

B．Earworms are used for keeping long-term memory.

C．Humans do not have complete control over their mind.

D．You won’t suffer from earworms unless you hear the song.

3.What does “it” in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The instruction to shut up your mind.

B．“Don’t think of the white bear” problem.

C．Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head.

D．Using the earworm-infected inner ear in another task.

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A．The causes and influences of earworms.

B．What earworms are and how to deal with them.

C．How to clear earworms out of your head.

D．The relation between earworms and popular songs.

 

Who help you most in your everyday life, families, charities, or friends? Don’t forget about your neighbours! Neighbours help you more than anyone else in your daily life. So it is important to have good neighbours.

What does it take to be a good neighbour? Here is some advice.

Good fences (栅栏) make good neighbours. One of the most important things in being a good neighbour is to respect (尊重) a person’ s privacy (隐私). If you go rushing over as soon as new neighbours move in, they may think you are going to come over at all hours of the day, not respecting their privacy.

It is always a good idea to be friendly to everyone in the neighbourhood. This can not only put you on good terms (关系和睦) with them, but will also be a kind of protection for your family and home. If you wave as they drive by or offer a friendly hello while they are out to work, they will think you respect them. If you are friendly to them, they are much more likely to watch out for anything wrong going on around your home while you are out and let you know if anything happens.

Another way of being a good neighbour is to be helpful in their hour of need. If you see that they are in need of a helping hand, it is good to offer your help. They will do the same if you are in trouble.

In a word, if you respect a person’s privacy, treat them kindly and be helpful when you see they are in need, you will be a great neighbour and anyone would be happy to have you next door!

1.    on how to be a good neighbour
2.    are good neighbours important?	Because they can help you 3.    in your daily life.
How to be a good neighbour?	Respect others’ privacy	Don’t rush over as soon as new neighbours 4.    　　 in.
Be5.    　 to neighbours	It can not only make you get along6.    with your neighbours but also make your neighbours help you 7.    your home and family when you are out.
Be8.   in their hour of need	Offer neighbours a helping hand when they are in need, and they will do the same when you have9.   .
Conclusion	Only 10.   you are a good neighbour yourself you can have good neighbours.

 

 

     It is September first today. A new school year begins. Hu Ming gets up early. He puts on the nicest clothes. After a quick breakfast he says goodbye to his parents and leaves with a new school bag. His mother wants to take him to his school. but he doesn't let her do so.

      "The school is less than a hundred meters from here. I can walk there in two minutes. "There are a lot of people in the school this morning. Hu Ming finds Miss Wang in the teachers' office. She brings out a book and asks. "What's your name?"

      "Hu Ming. madam. "answers the boy.   

      "When were you born (出生) .

      "In 2001."

      "Where's your native place?

       "What does "native place "mean, please?

       "It means the place where you were born."

       "Oh. I see. It's the Beijing Maternity (妇产) Hospital.

  1. What is the date?

  2. How old is Hu Ming now?

  3. Is the school far from his home?

  4. What is Miss Wang?

  5. Does Hu Ming understand (理解) Miss Wang?