In every school there is “top” crowd that sets the pace, while the others follow their lead. For example, if the crowd decides that it is smart to wear bright red sweaters, then very soon everybody is wearing bright red sweaters.
There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that for some people bright red sweater is really unsuitable.
The situation can even become dangerous, if the top crowd decides that it is smart to drink and to drive cars at seventy miles an hour. Then the people who follow the lead are endangering their lives. They are like the sheep being led to the slaughter(屠杀).
Now it’s possible that you have come across situations like these more than once in your life. In fact you probably did something you knew to be wrong one time or another. You may have excused yourself by saying, “ Gee, the crowd does it.” Well, let the crowd do it, but don’t do it yourself. Learn to say “No”.
Develop your own standards(标准)and your own judgment. If you know the crowd is planning something you disagree to, you’d better take the courage to bow out in a polite way. You’ll have the satisfaction of standing on your own two feet.
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is that _____________ .

Do you have a dog? I have a cute dog. It’s my birthday present (礼物)   1  my uncle. Its name is Maria. It’s an   2  dog. It is big and it is yellow in color. It likes running and jumping (跳跃). It   3  playing ball games with me. It’s great fun   4  with it. Maria is very   5 . It can play basketball. It is a basketball star in my neighborhood. Can it put the   6  into the basket (篮框)? Yes, it can.   7   does it do it? It uses (使用) its head (头). Maria is really good at it. All my friends like to   8  it play basketball. I’m   9  to have it. It brings me more friends. It is funny, too. It can dance   10  the music. What a lovely dog!

1– How long does it            you to wash all the dishes?

– Fifteen minutes.

A. take                B. cost                C. spend

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is also the second largest lake in the world. It is an important lake because it is one of the sources(源头) for the longest river in the world, the Nile River. Lake Victoria provides a source of water, food, and power(电力) for several African countries. Lake Victoria is a big part of African life.
Unfortunately, Lake Victoria has a problem. It is shrinking. There are several power stations at Lake Victoria in Uganda. These are on the Nile River, and besides producing power, they keep the water of the lake at a certain level. For the past forty years, that level has been 11.9 meters. Over the last several years, the water level has dropped by about 2.5 meters. There seem to be several reasons for this drop.
One possible reason is drought(干旱). Drought has been very bad in the area since 2000. Lake Victoria gets all of its water from rain, so the drought means less water in the lake.
However, some environmentalists believe that the real problem is the power plants(工厂) on Lake Victoria. Uganda depends on those power plants for most of its power, and they made the power plants larger in 2000. Many people believe the power plants have been taking too much water off Lake Victoria. As a result, they have been asked to use less water until Lake Victoria goes back to its old level.
Whether the low water level is caused by drought or power plants, the result is the same. This is already a poor area of Africa, where many people live a really hard life. People, animals and plants around Lake Victoria will suffer even more from low water levels on the lake. Many people need Lake Victoria for fishing or growing food. Fish need the water to live, and animals need it for water. Plants around the lake will die without the water, and then more animals and people will suffer. Unless the lake fills soon, many people will suffer and die.
【小题1】Lake Victoria is __________.

How long does it          you to get there?

A．make             B．take              C．need             D．spend