What’s your favorite English letter ? Many of you may say Q. Why ? Because so many of you chat with your friends on QQ .
What do you like about QQ? What do you talk about ? The CCTV reporter ,Miss Wang interviews three kids . Let’s listen to what they say .
When do you chat on QQ ? What do you talk about ?
Lin Yuhan , Xi’an : On weekends . We talk about homework and chat with each other .
Tang Yuting ,Shanghai : On weekends and when I don’t have much homework .We exchange test answers and chat .
Yang Yuhang , Dalian : Our class goes online together at 4—6pm on weekends , We complain about homework ,chat and talk about computer games .
What do you put on your QQ blog (博客 )?
Lin : I put good articles. I have found online on my blog . I also write articles myself . They are about funny things that have happened in my class .
Tang : I put pictures on my blog . Not my own photos , but pictures from my favorite Japanese cartoons like Tennis Prince and Conan .
Yang: I put DV films on my blog . I shoot  ( 拍摄 )them during sports meetings and school parties .The most popular one is about a dancing teacher .It is so funny that everyone watches it .
How do you like QQ?
Lin : It’s a good place for us to make a record of our lives of both good times and sad times .
Tang : My friends and I may not have time to chat at school .But we can do it on QQ. It’s very helpful to our friendships .
Yang : If you chat with your friends on the telephone ,your parents sometimes listen in on your convercation . There is no such problem with QQ . You can relax and talk freely .

1. 1.

   How many kids are interviewed about QQ?

   1. A.
      Nine
   2. B.
      Six
   3. C.
      Three
   4. D.
      Two
2. 2.

   What does Yang Yuhang talk about QQ on weekends ?
   ① homework       ② chat     ③ test answers  ④computer games

   1. A.
      ①②
   2. B.
      ②③
   3. C.
      ①②④
   4. D.
      ②③④
3. 3.

   What does Lin Yuhan put on her QQblog ?

   1. A.
      Some pictures .
   2. B.
      Good articles .
   3. C.
      DV films .
   4. D.
      Japanese cartoons .
4. 4.

   Which one is TRUE according to this article ?

   1. A.
      Lin says QQ is very helpful to their friendships .
   2. B.
      Yang says he can chat freely with many friends and relax on QQ .
   3. C.
      Tang says QQ is a good space for them to make a record of their lives .
   4. D.
      Tang says he chats on QQ on weekdays though he has lots of homework .

According to some predictions, human beings will die out in 2012. Nearly all people think it’s impossible, but there are some more earthquakes in recent years.

Animals can predict the weather or other natural events. It may sound strange, but farmers living in the countryside think so. For hundreds of years , they have observed animals.

“Animals ’ behavior can be connected to future weather conditions or events.” They say. For example, if cows lie down, a rainstorm is coming. There are many traditional stories connecting animals and natural events. Many people think that these stories don’t have scientific evidence( 根据 ) at all. Scientists, however, are beginning to take another look at some of these ideas.

A Japanese earthquake researcher named Kiyoshi Shimamura noticed an increase in dog bites a short time before earthquake hit. Then he did research on twelve public health centers in Kobe, Japan. These health centers treated people after the 1995 earthquake . He got some interesting information about the month before the big earthquake:  treatment for animals’ bites had increased . In fact, aggressive(侵略的)behavior in dogs, such as biting and barking loudly , jumped 60 percent.

There are also other changes in animals’ behavior before the earthquake. For example, fish began swimming together in large groups , but only in the middle of the water and not near the edges. Birds flew away from their nests for many days, leaving their eggs unprotected . These animals’ behavior suggests that animals may be able to predict natural events better than people.

1.What would cows behave before a rainstorm?

A．Running          B．Biting             C．Lying down        D．Sleeping

2.What do dogs begin to do just before an earthquake?

A．They leave their homes.                  B．They hurt people.

C．They lie down in grass.                   D．They stay together in large groups.

3.Which of the following animals behave strangely before an earthquake according to this passage?

A．Fish              B．Cows             C．Pigs              D．All of the above.

4.In Kiyoshi Shimamura’s investigation(调查)，before the big earthquake, treatment for animals’  bites had _________.

A．disappeared       B．increased         C．been the same as before.  D．never changed.

5.What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Natural events and animals’ actions.

B．What animals do during earthquakes

C．Many earthquakes of Japan.

D．Some stories about animals.

Who are the top students in the world, do you know? Last week the Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (经济合作与发展组织) picked the best students in the world. They are Finnish (芬兰的). The OECD gave a test to 280 000 15-year-old students from more than 40 coun­tries and regions (地区) last year. The OECD wan­ted to know how well students were doing at school.
Finnish students were No. 1 in the reading test and second in maths after Hong Kong students. Those from Japan and Finland were top in science. In the problem solving, Finnish students came sec­ond to those from South Korea. The test also showed Finland had more top students than the other countries.
Finns (芬兰人) of your age have done a really good job but don’t have a sense of envy. You can learn from them. Most Finnish students make good use of the Internet. Of course not for computer games, but for doing more exercises and finding out more information.
Libraries are also important. Finland spends a lot of money on them. Many students have a free card. They read for at least one or two hours a day.
What do you usually do on the Internet? How often do you go to libraries?
【小题1】Students from which country or region did best in the reading test?