People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals’ victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War II.
Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released (释放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.
Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England’s Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”
Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed (品种) from the kind of pigeons you see on city streets. They are much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a bent buildup of skin on the beak（鸟嘴）; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this strange appearance and consider carriers the best of their breed.
Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel’s Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.
【小题1】Many countries used carrier pigeons in the war because_______.

Americans love cars．They go everywhere in them．8 5％of people in the US go to and from work by car. And most adults have driving licenses．Why does this car culture exist?
How it started
America’s love of cars started after the war(战争)when soldiers returned home from World War II to rebuild their lives．They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status(地位)．The more money they had，the bigger their cars were．
Making of roads
During the war，President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had．He decided to build new four-lane(四车道)roads in America．He said if something happened suddenly，the two-lane roads wouldn’t be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities．Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started．
Car lover
Not just teenagers are crazy about cars．Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully .These are called Art Cars．Every April there is an activity in Houston，Texas，where they show their cars．
Pollution
Cars have polluted the environment．American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution．Many countries were angry about it．Bush said he had to think of the American economy(经济)and all the American people that make money from cars．Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less．But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars．
【小题1】When did Americans begin to love cars?   

Rico is a dog who lives in Germany(德国). His owners trained him from a young age to find his toys. When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!
Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!
Then the researchers tried something else. They put seven of Rico’s toys in the room together with one new toy that Rico had never seen before. Then they told Rico to go into the room and get the new toy. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times!
Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language. However, these tests seem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child.
From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.
【小题1】From the passage we know that Rico is good at ______.

Over 30,000 years ago, people from northern Asia went to America. Today we can tell these people Indians.
The Indians went to America because the weather began to change. Northern Asia became very cold. Everything froze. They had to move or they would die. How did the first Indians go to America? They walked!
Later Columbus found the New World in 1492. At first, only a few Europeans followed. They traveled to America in boats. For the next 300 years, about 500,000 people went there. Then the number grew very quickly. From 1815 to 1915, over 32,000,000 Europeans left their countries for the United States. The biggest groups went from Germany and Italy. These Europeans spoke many different languages. Most of them took almost no money. They went to America so they could find a better life.
【小题1】________ went to America first.

I'm here today to share a good lesson with you. It is a true story about a student who studied in Germany.

After years of hard work, this student graduated with amazing achievements. Everyone was sure that he was going to get a good job easily and have a bright future. But to his surprise, he was not even given the chance for an interview! The third time he was refused, he couldn't help telephoning the company to ask why they didn't want him. The answer was simple. “We don't offer jobs to dishonest people in Germany.”

What was wrong, you might wonder? The truth is, shortly after he arrived in Germany, this clever student found that it was easy to skip(逃票) buying subway tickets in this country. So in order to save money, he often went in the subway without a ticket. As a result, he had been caught without a ticket many times.

From this story, we learn that we may get short-term benefits in dishonest ways, but the truth will com out sooner or later and the cost is high. So remember: honesty is the best rule.

1.Did the student often buy a ticket when he took the subway?

_________________________________________

2.Where did the student study?

__________________________________________

3.According to the passage, what is the best rule?

___________________________________________