One day, a teacher was giving a speech to his students. He held up a glass of water and asked the class, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20 g to 500 g. "It does not matter on the weight itself. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance (救护车). It is exactly the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. "

If we carry our burdens (负担) all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier. "

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. "

We have to put down the burden sometimes, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

1.   The teacher brought a glass of water to the class because         .

2."A glass of water" in this passage referred to          .

3.According to the teacher, you may feel      _  if you put down the burden sometimes.

4.   This was a lesson about     ____ .

5.   Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

Your Junior 3 year will finish soon. Do you want to say something about your junior school life? What were the rewards（收获）of the three years? Teen readers have their stories to share.

Lin Yijian, 14, Xiamen, Fujian

I got through a hard time in Junior 2 when my grades suddenly dropped（下降）a lot. I faced great pressure. In the following summer vacation, I worked really hard by studying from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm every day. It was crazy, but when I got back to the front seat of the class, I felt everything had been worthwhile (值得的).

Luo Shu’er, 14, Hangzhou, Zhejiang

I lived in a dorm during junior school. It was a great challenge since I had never left my parents before that. I had to take care of everything myself. I learned to make my bed and get along with roommates. I also learned to make a schedule to arrange（安排）my time. I’ve done a good job and I feel proud.

Yin Donghui, 13, Beijing

I won first place in the rope skipping（跳绳）competition at our school’s sports meeting in my first year in junior school. The sports meeting is a big thing at our school. To prepare for it, I practiced hard and skipped rope 500 times every day. Finally I skipped over 210 times in one minute. You don’t know how excited I was then!

1.Where can you probably read the passage?

A. In an ad.                         B. In a story book.               C. In a newspaper.     D. In a textbook.

2. Why did Lin Yijian face great pressure in Junior 2?

A. Because his grades were not so good as before.

B. Because he felt everything had been worthwhile.

C. Because he studied too hard.

D. Because he wanted to drop his study.

3.What does the underlined word “dorm” mean in the passage?

A. 旅馆                            B. 宿舍                             C. 会堂                            D. 走廊

4.How many times can Yin Donghui skip in one minute at last?

A. 150 times.                       B. 200 times.                        C. 210 times.                        D. 500 times.

5. How does the writer show the teen readers’ junior school life?

A. By comparing different places.                                B. By describing people’s looks.

C. By giving figures（数据）.                                          D. By using students’ words.

Farmer John and Farmer Bob were neighbours. For more than 30 years, they had been getting along very well.

Then their good relationship broke. It began with a small thing, then bitter words, and then weeks of silence. One morning Farmer John woke up to find a stream between the two farms. “It must be Bob,” John thought.

Then one day there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a carpenter(木匠) standing at the doorway.

“I’m looking for a few days’ work,” the carpenter said.

 “I do have a job for you,” John said. “Look across the stream at that farm. That’s my neighbour Bob. He dug a stream between the two farms. I want you to build a fence—an 8-foot fence. I don’t want to see his place or his face any more. I don’t have such a neighbour!”The carpenter said, “I think I know what to do, sir, and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.” Farmer John helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all!

    It was a bridge! And the neighbour, Bob, was coming across, with his hand outstretched(伸出). “Hi, John! You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!”

 Then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hands. “I’m terribly sorry for what I have said and done. We should be good to each other.” said Farmer Bob. Then they turned to see the carpenter, who was ready to go. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I have a lot of other jobs for you,” said Farmer John. “I’d love to stay,” the carpenter said, “but I have more bridges to build.”

1.What does the sentence “You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!” mean?

A. John was great to build this bridge.

B. John was not good at building bridges.

C. John was foolish to build such a bridge.

D. John should build the bridge earlier.

2.What do you think of the carpenter?

A. Shy.         B. Wise.        C. Proud.         D. Careless.

3.What is the best title for the passage?

 A. What a Big Fence!            B. A Strong Bridge.

C. Three Kind Men              D. A Fence or a Bridge ?             

Do you learn from your mistakes? I hope so. But have you ever made the same mistake twice? I have．Sometimes I make the same mistake three or four times!

Sometimes，good things happen because of mistakes．Once I got on the wrong train．That was a big mistake．But on that train，I saw a good friend．I was so happy I made that mistake!

Another time I ruined a surprise．My mother planned a surprise party for my father．She told me it was a secret．But I was just a little boy and I couldn't keep the secret．I told my father about the party．At first，my mother was mad at me．But then my father said he was happy he knew about it．He said he didn't like surprises．

When a good thing comes out of a mistake，that's a happy accident!

1.The boy saw ______ on the wrong train.

2.His mother asked him to ______.

3. What does the boy think of mistakes?

My Year Abroad                                                           

This month in Travelers Corner there are three teenagers’ experiences in year-abroad programmes.

Mariko Okada – Tokyo

My year abroad in the United States was a fantastic experience. I’m not a shy person, and I was very comfortable speaking to everyone. So I got lots of speaking practice. I also learned lots of interesting things about American culture. When I got home, my friends all said that I had improved so much! I hope to go back again in the future.

Carla Fonseca – Rio de Janeiro

I spent last year studying English in London. I’m from a small town, and London is a very big city. Sometimes I felt it was too big. There were so many people to talk to, but I always felt bad about my English. I missed my family, and I really missed my two cats. My roommate was always using our telephone, so I hardly had the chance for a nice long talk with my parents. I think it was a good experience for me, but I’m glad to be home!

Alvin Chen – Hong Kong

Studying in New Zealand was a fun experience for me, but it was also lots of hard work! I had English classes six hours a day, five days a week——with lots of homework. I also kept a diary of my experience. I like to write, and I wrote two or three pages in my diary every day. On Saturdays, my homestay family took me to lots of interesting places and showed me so many wonderful things about the culture. I’m really glad I went!

1.All the three teenagers went abroad           .

A．to study English                         B．to visit friends

C．to have a holiday                        D．to find a job

2.Who didn’t really enjoy the stay in a foreign country very much?

A．Mariko.           B．Carla.             C．Alvin.             D．None of them.

3.Travelers Corner is most probably         .

A．a sports club newsletter                  B．a science documentary

C．a travel magazine                       D．a news website