The seasons in Australia are not like ours. When it is winter in china, it is summer there. Australia is a southern country, it is in the south of the world. July and August are the winter months; September, October and November are spring, the summer is in January, February and December, and March, April and May are the autumn months. The north of the country is hotter than the south.

A very large part of this country has no rain at all. The east coast (海岸地区)has rain all year, and there are no dry months there. The southeast winds blows(吹) here all the year. They bring rain from the sea. There is not much rain on the west side. The southeastern part of Australia has summer rain from the southeast winds. They only blow here in summer.

The southwestern part of Australia has winter rain. The west winds blow over the southwest in winter only. In summer, the southwest of the country has no rain. In the north of Australia, there is no rain in winter. The rain comes in summer. The northwest winds bring it.

1.In October, it is ______ in Australia.

A. spring B. summer C. autumn D. winter

2.It is ____ in the south than in the north in Australia.

A. warmer B. hotter C. colder D. cooler

3.The ______ part of Australia has the most rain.

A. eastern B. southeastern C. southern D. northern

4. The west winds only come over the ____ of the country in winter.

A. east B. west C. northwest D. southeast

5.There is _____ rain in winter in the north of Australia.

A. enough   B. a heavy   C. more   D. no  

We’ve talked about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells (壳) —sleeping.

Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.

In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.

A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.

1. A snail _________.

　 A. moves more slowly at night　　B. has thousands of feet

C. doesn’t move at all   　　      D. sleeps much of the time

2. In the sentence “A snail draws its body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.

　 A. to make with a pencil     B. to push　　C. to pull      D. to move away

3. From the story, we know _________.

　 A. a snail’s shell is very thin     B. a snail can’t see well

　 C. a snail’s nose is quite short    D. a snail’s body changes in different seasons

4. A snail goes to sleep when _____.

　 A. it feels hungry   B. it is put into a paper box  C. spring is coming   D. it rains heavily

5.Which of the following is wrong?

A. In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move.　　B. A snail doesn’t like living under the sun

C. The snail’s teeth can’t be worn out.       D. The snail’s nose helps to find food.

What is the weather like in China? Spring is warm in most parts  1 China. It usually begins in February or  2 . Summer is often very  3 . It  4 about three months. The honest  5 are July and August. Autumn starts in August. The  6 can be quite cool in autumn. Winter  7 in November. January is the  8 month. You need to wear warm  9 in winter. The best time to come to my hometown is in spring  10 autumn.
【小题1】A. of           B. to        C. outside
【小题2】A. January      B. April     C. March
【小题3】A. hot          B. cool      C. cold
【小题4】A. comes        B. lasts     C. goes
【小题5】A. time         B. months    C. seasons
【小题6】A. weather      B. day       C. night
【小题7】A. finishes     B. goes      C. starts
【小题8】A. hottest      B. coldest   C. warmest
【小题9】A. shirts       B. blouses   C. clothes
【小题10】A. but          B. or        C. nor

The seasons in Australia are not like ours. When it is winter in China, it is summer there. Australia is a southern country, it is in the south of the world. July and August are the winter months; September, October and November are spring, the summer is in January, February and December, and March, April and May are the autumn months. The north of the country is hotter than the south.

The east coast has rain all year, and there are no dry months there. The southeast winds blows(吹) here all the year. They bring rain from the sea. There is not much rain on the west side. The southeastern part of Australia has summer rain from the southeast winds. They only blow here in summer.

The southwestern part of Australia has winter rain. The west winds blow over the southwest in winter only. In summer, the southwest of the country has no rain. In the north of Australia, there is no rain in winter. The rain comes in summer. The northwest winds bring it.

1.When it is spring in China, it is _______in Australia.

2.The southwest part of Australia ______.

3.Only the southwestern part of Australia has summer rain, does it ?

4.In Australia, which months are the winter?

5.Where is the summer rain of southeast part of Australia from?

Many years ago, there was an old man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge(判断) things too quickly. So he told them to go and look at a pear tree. It was far away from his home. The first son went in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in autumn.
When the sons came back, the old man asked them to say what they had seen.
The first son complained the tree was ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds and full of hope. The third son said the tree was full of green leaves. They looked so beautiful, and it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. The youngest son said that the tree was bowed down with heavy fruits. It was full of life and fulfillment(收获).
The man explained that all of his sons were right, but each of them had seen just one season of the tree. He told them that they couldn’t judge a tree or a person by only one season. "If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the hope of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your autumn." said the old man
It is true that we shouldn’t let the hard season break the happiness of the other seasons. Never give up during the difficult days and better times are sure to come some day.
【小题1】Why did the old man ask his sons to look at the pear tree?