(阅读理解)

Spinach Power

It’s the spinach (菠菜)! The sailor opens the can and eats it. Then things change very quickly!

He grows very tall and strong. His muscles (肌肉) come out. No one can beat him now. This is Popeye the sailor. Now the cartoons of the sailor and his spinach are on show in the Museum of Television and Radio in New York. It’s for Popeye’s seventy?fifth birthday.

“There are few characters (角色) that are so old and still loved by people,” said Barry Monush, from the show. Popeye loves a very thin and tall girl, Olive Oyl. She often gets into trouble. But Popeye is the one to save her!

Most kids have watched this cartoon on TV. Mum says spinach is good, but kids only begin to like it because of the sailor! Who can forget his face with its large chin (下巴) and almost closed right eye? Popeye always wins. He’s simple, but he knows how to stop the strong Bluto’s bad plans. In 1929, Popeye was first in the comic strip (连环画) “Thimble Theatre” (《顶针剧院》) by E.C. Segar in the US. He only had a small part. But two years later he had his own comic strip. Americans ate 33 percent more spinach in the 1930s! “He shows anybody can be great,” said Wang Di, 14, from Beijing. “He gets angry, but I still love him and his spinach.”

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　　Zheng He, the Columbus of the East, was an amazing man．

　　He was born in 1371 and, 11 years later, was caught by the army of a rich young man called Zhu Di and made to work for him．Over time the rich man saw that Zheng He was very clever and strong and they became close friends．In 1403 Zhu Di was made the King of China and he asked Zheng He to join his new government．

　　The King wanted to learn more about the world and show other countries his power．He ordered many new ships to be built and made Zheng He their leader．Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He led seven sea trips to different parts of the world．He certainly travelled to India, Africa and the Middle East．A few people think his ships may have even reached South America and Australia．

　　Each trip lasted between two and four years and it is believed he sailed more than 50 000 kms during the years of his travels．With 28 000 men and over 300 ships, such as boats for food, water and even soldiers' horses, Zheng He led a fleet(舰队)whose size would not be equalled by Europeans for over 500 years I

　　On these trips he brought with him many Chinese goods like silk and medicine to give to foreign kings or to sell for local goods．He returned from each trip with boats filled with expensive things such as gold and jewellery, foreign guests and strange animals like a giraffe．

　　It is a pity that we may never learn everything about Zheng He s travels．After he died in 1433, the new king, who believed these trips were unlucky and too expensive, had them stopped and he burned almost all the books about Zheng He’s travels．It is only in the last 50 years that historians have begun to carefully study the adventures of the great Zheng He．

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完形填空

　　On a white sand beach near the blue ocean,there lived a mother crab and a baby crab．One day the mother crab saw a beautiful crane(鹤) walking about in the 　　1　　,a straight lovely walk on its long legs．“How lovely that crane 　　2　　,”she said to herself．The mother crab was 　　3　　 from a distance．The small baby crab was walking sideways．So the mother crab said to the baby crab,“You shouldn't walk like that．You should look 　　4　　 and walk straight．”The baby crab made 　　5　　 his mind to walk straight．He tried,　　6　　 failed．“Why don't you show me how to walk straight,Mother?”he asked her．“If you show me the straight way,I'm sure I will do it,　　7　　．”So the mother tried to show her son how to do the straight walk,but no matter how 　　8　　 she tried,she could not．Her legs did not seem to be 　　9　　 to walking straight．“I give up,”she said,panting(气喘吁吁地) 　　10　　 several unsuccessful attempts(尝试)．“Forget it,child,I don't think it is possible for us to walk like the crane．Let's walk in our own way．”

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