Naturally ,American schoolchildren love holidays .And they get a lot of them each year .Besides having national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Presidents; Day off from school ,students get longer breaks in the US only go to school for about 180 days a year.To students ,holidays are perfect .However ,parents think there are advantages and disadvantages .
On the one hand ,school holidays allow families to spend time together .Many American parents take time off from work during June,July or august to travel with their children on vacations either in the US or in a foreign country .On the other hand ,schoolchildren get much more time off school than parents get vacation for an time.This means that parents with young children may have to pay more in the babysitting or day care coats.As well ,the long summer holidays mean that students sometimes get bored.
Besides going on trips with their parents ,American students enjoy taking part in different kind s of activities during the holidays .For example ,some kids enjoy summer camps and outdoor adventure holidays .Such trips are great  adventurous students .They  also have a lot to offer students who aren’t usually interested in traditional PE activities .ou can do courses in survival skills ,for example .Students learn how to make a camp in the forest ,which wild food they can eat and how to find their way to make a camp in the forest,which wild food they can eat and how to find their way back to the center.
Students who are not excited about summer camps and outdoor adventure may take part in courses in computer game design ,film making and photography  during the holidays .Finally ,the traditional school trip to foreign countries is always popular .Students can practice their foreign language skills and experience every day life in a different culture.
【小题1】How long are kids in the US at school every year?
About 180 days     B.About 280 days
C.About 200 days   D.About 300 days
【小题2】What does the underlined “they “refer to in the third paragraph?

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World Book Day falls on April 23 every year. It was set up by the UNESCO(联合国教科文组织) in 1995 to encourage people, especially teenagers, to discover the pleasure of reading. It is also the day to honor great writer, for example, William Shakespeare, born or dead on that day.
Many countries celebrate World Book Day. Take UK as an example. On that day, millions of school children can buy books of special price, a much lower price than usual, in any bookstore. It has been done every year since 1998. World Book Day is also celebrated in China. Premier Wen Jiabao does lots of reading every day. Wen has called on people to do more reading. He suggested that young people should spend more time reading. “Book cannot change the world, but people can change the world by changing themselves through reading,” he said.
Why do people like reading? One big advantage is that reading helps us become more knowledgeable and more intelligent. Also, reading helps us to follow the latest developments of science and technology. Besides, reading gives us information about other cultures and places of the world. When we read, we may find many things that are unfamiliar to us. We would have to use our brain to think about them or do more reading to find out the answers. The more we read, the more we know. What’s more, reading is also one of the most important ways to learn a foreign language like English.
“Reading makes a full man”. Books, magazines, newspapers and other kinds of materials can help us to know more about the outside world and perfect us. So it is necessary for us to spend time on reading every day.
【小题1】When is World Book Day?
【小题2】In UK, what can school children do on World Book Day?
【小题3】What did Premier Wen Jiabao suggest young people do?
【小题4】How many advantages of reading are mentioned in the passage?
【小题5】What does the passage mainly talk about?

Tom and Fred are talking about the year 2020. “What will our world be like in the year 2020?” “I don't know,” says Fred. “What do you think?” “Well, no one knows, but it’s interesting to guess.” “In the year 2020 everyone will carry a pocket computer(便携式计算机). The computer will give people the answers to all their problems. We shall all have telephones in our pockets, too, and we’ll be able to talk to our friends all over the world. Perhaps we’ll be able to see them at the same time. ” “A lot of people will live and work under the sea. Perhaps there will be big towns, factories and farms under the sea, too. ” “Machines will do most of the work, and so people will have more holidays, perhaps they’ll work only two or three days a week. They’ll be able to fly to the moon by spaceship and spend their holidays there. ” “I’m looking forward（期待）to the year 2020. I hope to go to the moon! ” “And 1 hope I’ll be able to live under the sea.” says Fred. “Won’t that be very interesting? Just like a fish! ”

1.Tom and Fred talked about ____ .

2.Machines will ____ .

3.From their talk, we know that ____ .

4.Fred said ____ .

5.Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned(提及)?

You always spend only a little time on your study.  You really ______ me down.

Dear Mr Zhu,

I am writing to your magazine’s “Teenagers Now” column(专栏) to ask for some help with my 16-year-old son. At the moment, he refuses to do almost everything his mother and I ask him to do. He is our only child and we treat him very well. His grandparents buy him many things, and yet he is still rude to us. He refuses to spend time with us or do as we tell him. Sometimes he acts as if he doesn’t even love us at all.

Now he refuses to do his homework, and instead insists on wasting his time watching DVDs and listening to foreign music. I cannot understand this music, but I don’t like it. He also spends too much time in Internet cafes, where he either plays games or chats online. He is wasting valuable time during this important period in his life!

What am I to do? At present, to prevent making his mother unhappy with an argument, I am allowing him his freedom. However, I am worried that if I keep allowing him to do what he wants, he may fail at school, or worse.

How can I help my son without harming our relationship?

Yours

Liu Zhenhua

1. What’s Mr. Zhu’s job?

A. A teacher.                                                                      B. A magazine columnist. 

C. A youth worker.                                                        D. A doctor.

2.From the passage, we can know that Mr. Liu’s son is _______ to his parents.

A. friendly                  B. thankful           C. polite          D. rude

3.What does Liu Zhenhua write to Mr. Zhu for?

A. To blame his son.

B. To ask for help with his son.

C. To say something about his son.

D. To complain to him about his son.

4.What do you think is the possible answer for the father?

A. The father should let the son alone.

B. The father should give his son a beating.

C. The father should allow his son his freedom.

D. The father should be patient enough to have communication with the son.