Buckingham Palace is in London, England. Buckingham Palace is famous because Queen Elizabeth（伊丽莎白女王）of England lives there. She became queen in 1952.

Buckingham Palace is a big and beautiful building. Queen Elizabeth and her family live on the second floor of the palace. The queen also has her office at the palace. Queen Elizabeth often asks important people to eat dinner at the palace. She invites 9,000 people to each party!  

Buckingham Palace is like a small town. It has a police station, a hospital, two post offices, a movie theatre, a swimming pool, two sports clubs, a garden and a lake. The palace has about six hundred rooms. About four hundred people work there. Two people have very unusual jobs. They take care of the clocks. There are 300 clocks in Buckingham Palace. 

Queen Elizabeth’s day starts at 7:00 in the morning. Seven people take care of her. One person prepares her bath, and another person prepares her clothes. Another person takes care of her dogs. The queen loves dogs.

It’s very interesting to have dinner at Buckingham Palace. You have to follow rules. Queen Elizabeth starts to eat first, and then everybody eats. When the queen finishes eating, everybody finishes eating. You can’t leave the table during dinner.

People visit the rooms in Buckingham Palace in August and September. There are wonderful things to see. Don’t forget that Queen Elizabeth is one of the richest people in the world.

1.Which floor does the queen live on?

A. the ground floor    B. the second floor 

C. the sixth floor  D the tenth floor

2.The underlined word “unusual” means ___________ in Chinese.

3.How many rooms does Buckingham Palace have?

4.According to the text, everyone has to ____________ during dinner at Buckingham Palace.

5.Which sentence is NOT true?

Word travelled quickly in the small fishing village of Port Washington, Wisconsin. So when McCarty wanted to build a playground for kids with special needs. 2,800 people ? a third of the town ? rolled up their sleeves(衣袖)and helped her.

"A lot of learning comes through play," said McCarty, 52, a special education teacher for 28 years. But her students were too often left out. She'd seen the traditional playgrounds stop wheelchairs dead in their tracks.

On September 16, 2008, the first day of the project, they came. Two women heard about the project on the way to work and took the day off to help. A couple in their 80s took part in the job. Children came and gave a helpful hand. Many were volunteers. They all worked very hard.

Today, Possibility Playground is one of the most popular destinations in Ozaukee County. All children can play shoulder to shoulder. There is special equipment(装置) in different parts. Here, you see all the kids on the same playground having fun.

"People used to ask. 'Why do you want to build a playground just for children with disabilities?' " McCarty said. "They didn't get it. It's only when you build a playground for children with disabilities that you build one for all children."

1.What's McCarty?

2.How many people are there in the town?

3.What does the underlined word mean?

For as long as I can remember, Grandma’s plentiful tomato garden has been a sign of summer’s end. Each September, just as the decreased heat of the sun suggests cooler days, Grandma requests (ask for something) my help in her tomato garden. I’m sure that she cannot pick tomatoes without my youthful eyes and quick mind. She says we need to examine each tomato and agree on its readiness for picking. While Grandma’s request for my help in the tomato garden is always the same, her desire for my help seems to increase each year.
　　Grandma has eyes for finding even the tomatoes hidden by undergrowth and other tomatoes. I, however, just turn circles looking for the ones I think Grandma will like. I spot what looks like a ripe（成熟的）tomato, head in its direction, and then get sidetracked by another that appears to be equally ripe. I usually end up watching Grandma and trying to stay out of her way, which seems the only way my eyes and mind are useful.
　　There we are, lost in the tomato vines（藤）. Grandma’s eyes are always knowing, and they are no different in the vegetable garden. From afar she spots (notice) what looks like a ripe tomato. As she walks toward the garden, she evaluates the tomato for a second time, but from a different angle. I already know it will end up in the basket with the pile of others Grandma has carefully chosen. However, Grandma acts as if she needs a final look to be sure. She calls me to her side, kneels beside the vine while enjoying the warmth of the fading sunlight on her face, and grasps the tomato in her hand. She turns each round, red ball toward the sunlight before disconnecting it from the vine with a half-hearted smile.
　　She then looks at me. I nod my head and smile. Grandma assumes I smile in agreement with her tomato selection. I know I smile, instead, at her.
【小题1】 Why does Grandma ask the author to go to the tomato garden with her?