A lady has a problem with her daughter:
My nine-year-old daughter, Maria, is in Year Four. Every evening we get into homework battles(争执). Three afternoons a week, she has activities(netball, singing) after school and by the time we get home early, we argue(争论) about whether she should do her homework right after school, or if she should have some time to rest and play first. When Maria at last sits down to do her homework, she seems to want me there helping all the time, I do want to help her, but I’m sure that she is going to need to be able to do it on her own. And in fact, most of the time, I have other things I need to be doing. It seems that children these days have much more homework than we did, and some of it is really beyond(超越) their abilities(能力). As you can see, I’m really worried about homework and I really don’t know what I should do. Any ideas?
【小题1】The woman’s daughter is          .

A teacher began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.  He held it up for all to see, and asked the students, " How much do you think this glass weighs?"

"50 g!" "100 g!" "125 g!" the students answered.

        "I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the teacher, "but my question is what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

" Nothing! " the students said.

"OK. What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?" the teacher asked.

"Your arm would begin to ache," said one of the students.

"You're right.  Now, what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb. Have to go to hospital for sure!" said another student. All the students laughed.

"Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?" asked the teacher.

"No." the students said.

"Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle (肌肉) stress?"

The students fell silent for a moment.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students.

"Exactly!" said the teacher. "The problems of life are something like this. Hold them for a few minutes in your head, and it seems OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to make you ache. Hold them even longer and you will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the  challenges(挑战)  in your life, but it' s even more important to put them down at the end of every day before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed. You wake up fresh and strong and can deal with any challenge that comes your way!"

Remember to put the glass down today.

1. How much do you think this glass which was held by the teacher weighs?

A.50g     B.125g       C.I don’t know.    D.100g

2.What would happen if the teacher held the glass up like this for an hour?

A. One of the students thought his arm could go numb.

B. One of the students thought his arm would begin to ache.

C. One of the students thought his arm would be changed.

D. One of the students thought his arm would be lost.

3. Why did the teacher hold up a glass in his class?

A. Because he wanted to know how much the glass weighs.

B. Because he wanted to ask some student to weigh the glass.

C. Because he wanted to make his class more interesting.

D. Because he wanted to explain it was important to put the challenges in life down at the end of every day.

4. In this passage, the underlined words "go numb" means_______.

A．疼痛不止                  B．消瘦萎缩                   C．松弛下垂         D．失去感觉

5. According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. The teacher told his students to face the challenges bravely.

B. The teacher taught his students how to deal with the problems.

C. The teacher used to begin his class with a glass of water.

D. The teacher usually begins his class by holding a glass of water.

We spend hours, days and years of our lives in school. Imagine(想象) you could design(设计) your dream school, what would it be like? What would you be doing? We wanted to find out what teenagers around the world thought. Here is what they said:

Richard from the USA: My dream school would have a big swimming pool and two soccer fields. It would also have a cinema, a gym and a shopping centre. My school has none of these, and I think there should be more pleasant things for students to do while they are studying.

Sonia from Italy: I’d like a room where we can relax and play computer games. I’d also like to have a music room. I think there should be a place for everyone to go and relax after class.

Wu from Beijing: I think it would be great to have another day off (休息日) every week, besides the weekend. If that day was a Friday or a Monday, we would have a long weekend every week. What fun! I also think school should start later, at about 10 o’clock, and finish earlier.

Hannah from Australia: In my dream school, I think the teachers should give us more freedom(自由) and choice about how we study and what we study. I also think it’s not necessary for us to wear school uniforms every day. I really don’t like wearing it. 

1.There would be_______ in Richard’s dream school.

A．a big swimming pool and a music room 

B．a room to relax and play computer games

C．a big swimming pool, two soccer fields, a cinema, a gym, and a shopping centre

2.How many days off does Wu want to have in a week?

A．2.        B．3.         C．4.

3.Which country is NOT mentioned(提到) in the passage?

A．Italy.    B．Japan. C．Australia.

4.From the passage, we know that_________.

A．Sonia from Italy would like a room where she can relax and play computer games

B．Richard from the USA thinks his dream school should start at 10 o’clock

C．Hannah from Australia likes wearing a school uniform every day

5.Which is the best title (标题) for the passage?

A．Schools in the past.    B．Schools today.     C．Dream schools.

“Would you tell me which way I should go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get,” said the Cat.
“I really don’t care where” replied Alice.
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
--- from “ Alice in Wonderland ”
My name is David. And I have a brother called Mike. 
One day, my brother called me and asked me for some advice. He was trying to decide between two job offers:
Job 1 – The first job was your typical 40 hour a week “office” job.
Job 2 – The second job was more of a career in the insurance industry(保险业), where he would start at the bottom, and after many years and many long hours eventually rise to the top (if he was good). 
The second job did not pay as well as the first job (at the beginning), but the pay-off of the second job (in the future) was much greater than the first job. So which job should my brother take? Well the answer is…it depends.
Just like the Cat was trying to tell Alice, which road you take depends a great deal on where you want to end up.
Begin with the End in Mind
I asked my brother what was his life’s purpose. He said his purpose was to “teach,” but he wanted to make a lot of money first. I told my brother to forget about the money, and I advised him to focus on his purpose. I then asked him which job best supported his end result of “teaching.” He said the first job best supported his goal because he would only have to work 40 hours a week, which would give him spare time to teach. He continued on to say, “but if I take job number two, I can work hard and make more money, then I can retire early and “teach” later in life.” I again advised him to “focus” on his purpose, not money. Things don’t end wrong, they begin wrong!
You Can’t Ride Two Horses Well
It would be very difficult to have a successful teaching career while you’re working 70-80 hours a week in the insurance business; no one can ride two horses well. As they say, you can do anything, but not everything. I advised him to get started today by choosing the job that best supported that decision.
Tomorrow Never Comes
My brother was thinking that he could always start teaching later in life, but the reality is, tomorrow never comes. Unless you decide right now to follow your feelings, they will probably never be completed. You only live once, don’t go to the end of your life with one regret.
The Money Will Come
My brother seemed to be overly concerned with making money. I told him not to be anxious about making money. You will always have greater money when you’re doing what you love.
In a word, whenever you’re at a cross-road, be sure to make the decision that best supports the goal of your life. If you do, then you will be well on your way.
【小题1】 Mike ___________ David one day.