One windy spring day, I noticed young people having fun using the wind to fly their kites. Colorful creations of different shapes and sizes filled the skies like beautiful birds flying and dancing. As the strong winds blew against the kites, a string kept them in control.
Instead of blowing away with the wind, they rose against it to achieve great heights. They shook and pulled, but the restraining (控制的) string and the cumbersome (笨重的) tail kept them in control, facing upward and against the wind. As the kites struggled against the string, they seemed to say, “Let me go! Let me go! I want to be free!” They rose beautifully even when they fought the restriction of the string. Finally, one of the kites succeeded in breaking loose(松散的). “Free at last,” it seemed to say. “Free to fly with the wind.”
Yet freedom(自由) simply put it in the control of an unkind wind. It fell down to the ground and landed in a mass of weeds and string against a dead bush. “Free at last”, free to lie powerlessly in the dirt, to be blown helplessly along the ground, and to stop lifelessly against the first obstacle (障碍物).
How much like kites we sometimes are. The Heaven gives us adversity (逆境) and rules, rules to follow from which we can grow and get strength. Some of us break away from the rules so hard that we never reach the heights we might get to. We keep part of the rules and never rise high enough to get our tails off the ground.
Let us each rise to the great heights, knowing that some of the rules that we may be angry about are in fact the strong force that helps us achieve.
【小题1】Why does the writer write the first paragraph?

In northern China during spring, big sandstorm often make trouble for people. Sandstorms usually happen in spring. They have happened in more than 10 provinces in northern China this year. People in southern China don’t have to worry about this kind of bad weather. Most of the sand comes from the north of China. In northern China, lots of places have few trees and don’t get much rain. When there aren’t many trees, the ground can’t keep enough water. Over the years, the ground dries up and turns to sand. When spring comes and the ice melts, the ground becomes loose. Strong winds take the loose sand into the sky. Besides, in northeast China, there lies some vast deserts.
Sandstorms are bad for people’s health. If people breathe in too much sand, they will cough or have serious illnesses. Sandstorms also give farmers lots of problems. Sometimes their sheep get lost in the storms and never come back home. The winds also tear the farmers’ houses down.
What can you do to stop sandstorms? Here’s a piece of advice. Ask your parents to help you plant some trees this spring. If you see people cutting down too many trees, tell them about the dangers of sandstorms, and ask your government to stop them.
【小题1】When do sandstorms usually happen?

In northern China during spring, big sandstorm often make trouble for people. Sandstorms usually happen in spring. They have happened in more than 10 provinces in northern China this year. People in southern China don't have to worry about this kind of bad weather. Most of the sand comes from the north of China. In northern China, lots of places have few trees and don't get much rain. When there aren't many trees, the ground can't keep enough water. Over the years, the ground dries up and turns to sand. When spring comes and the ice melts, the ground becomes loose. Strong winds take the loose sand into the sky. Besides, in northeast China, there lies some vast deserts.

  Sandstorms are bad for people's health. If people breathe in too much sand, they will cough or have serious illnesses. Sandstorms also give farmers lots of problems. Sometimes their sheep get lost in the storms and never come back home. The winds also tear the farmers' houses down.

  What can you do to stop sandstorms? Here's a piece of advice. Ask your parents to help you plant some trees this spring. If you see people cutting down too many trees, tell them about the dangers of sandstorms, and ask your government to stop them.

1.When do sandstorms usually happen?

A.In summer.  B. In spring.   C. In winter.   D. In autumn

2.What does the underlined word "loose" mean in China?

肥沃的           B.贫瘠的        C.疏松的        D.大量的

3.The second paragraph tells us ______________.

A.why sandstorms happen in northern China

B.the dangers of sandstorms

C.sandstorms aren't terrible at all

D.how sandstorms happen

4.Which of the following is NOT a way to stop sandstorms?

A.Plant more trees in spring.

B.Stop people to cut down too many trees

C.Don't stay outside when sandstorms happen.

D.Tell people about the dangers of sandstorms.

5.Which is the best title for this passage?___________

A.Sandstorms    

B. How we can stop sandstorms

C. Why sandstorms only happen in northern China. 

D. Sandstorms can influence most of China.

D

When I was growing up, I had an old neighbor, Dr. Gibbs. He didn’t look like any doctor I’d ever known. He never invited us to play in his yard, but he was a very kind person.

When Dr. Gibbs wasn’t saving lives, he was planting trees. He owned a large field and wanted to make it a forest.

The good doctor had some interesting ideas about planting trees. He never watered his new trees. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled (宠坏)them, and that if you watered them, each baby tree would grow weaker and weaker, so you had to make things difficult for them and pick out the weaker trees early on.

He talked about how watering trees made for shallow(浅的) roots, and the trees that weren’t watered had to grow deep roots in search of water under the earth by themselves. Deep roots were very important.

So he never watered his trees. He’d planted an oak and, instead of watering it every morning, he’d beat it with a rolled-up newspaper. I asked him why he did that, and he said it was to get the tree’s attention.

Dr. Gibbs died several years after I left home. Every now and then, I walked by his house and looked at the trees that I watched him plant about twenty-five years ago. They’re very big and strong now.

I planted some trees a few years back and carried water to them for a whole summer. After two years of caring too much, whenever a cold wind blows in, they shake a lot.

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my two sons. Mostly I pray(祈祷) that their lives will be easy. But lately I’ve been thinking that it’s time to change my prayer. I know my children are going to face difficulties. There’s always a cold wind blowing somewhere, so what we need to do is to pray for roots that reach deep into the brave heart, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we could face it strongly and won’t be beaten down.

1. We know from the reading the doctor _________.

2. When Dr. Gibbs said, “...pick out the weaker trees early on.” he means that ______.

3.The passage tells us that the writer _______.

4. The writer wants to change his prayer, hoping that ________.

5.Which can be the best title of the reading?