Today is Tuesday. We are having a ___31___ class in the classroom. Ms Chen is telling us what water is like. After that, she asks us “___32_ water like?” No one speaks for __33__ minutes. Ms Chen asks again,“Why don’t you __34__ my question? Don’t I tell you what water is like?”
A boy names Zhang Hui puts up his ___35__ and says,“Ms Chen, you tell us that water has no color __36__ no smell. But ___37_ can we find that kind of water? The __38__ in the river behind my house is always black and it has bad smell. ”Most of us ___39__ with him.
“I am sorry, children,” says Ms Chen. “Our water is getting__40__. That’s a problem.”

Today more and more people like to go shopping online(在线的). Wang Xing is one of them. Wang Xing is a writer in Beijing. She likes shopping online. She often shops on Taobao.
Do you know Taobao? If you like shopping online, I am sure you know it. Taobao is China’s biggest online shopping site (网上购物网站). Taobao means “looking for treasure”. People can find almost everything on Taobao, from clothes to books, from mobile phones (手机) to computers.
Wang Xing says“ My friends and I often go shopping online. First, because we don’t like to go out very often. Second, because there are many goods (货物) on Taobao, and you can find everything you want to buy. Third, because the goods on Taobao are cheaper than those in the shopping malls.”
【小题1】Taobao is             .

The high school diploma (文凭) is losing its value quickly, as a growing number of students graduate (毕业) from school without the math and reading skills that colleges and companies require, according to a new report.
The high school graduation exams that most states (州) require students to pass before they graduate remain far too easy. Most of the exams generally test eighth-or ninth-grade level work.
Today, even high school graduates who are going to have blue-collar (蓝领) jobs need to study the math, research and writing courses. But in high school, only students who are going to college are now required to take these courses.
“If you want a good job with a good pay, it’s a high-skill job,” said Michael Cohen, a leading member of the America Diploma Project.
The project suggests that all graduates master a wide range (范围) of skills. “A high school diploma should mean something to a company and university,” said Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, who is Achieve’s co-chairman.
In Taft’s state, about 30% students who go directly to college from high school have to take remedial classes of English or math, he said. It’s easy to see that the present high-school graduating standards are not preparing students for college education.
And with high-skilled jobs increasingly headed overseas to places like India and Ireland, states need to act, he said.
To prove why math and reading skills matter, the report includes real-life examples of problems students meet in college and that workers must solve each day on the job. ?
Some states are taking actions to upgrade the high school diploma. In Texas, all high school students, starting with the 2008 graduating class, will have to take the college-prep curriculum (大学预备课程) - unless a parent agrees to an easier course load. Other states are planning similar moves.
The report includes examples of reading and math skills that high-school students should have. Project leaders say they hope parents will use those examples to judge (评定) the coursework at their kids’ high schools.
【小题1】Why is the high school diploma losing its value quickly?

A：What’s the matter with you?

B：1.

A：How long have you been like this?

B：? 2.

A：That sounds terrible!

B：The chemical factory produces terrible gas. The bad air makes my chest hurt. Please read this article.

A：? 3.

B：It’s about air pollution in China. Today，air pollution has become a serious problem.

A：? 4. What should we do as a student?

B：? 5.