“If you want to see a thing well, reach out and touch it!”That may seem a strange thing to say． But touching things can help you to see them better． Your eyes can tell you that a glass ball is round． But by holding it in your hands, you can feel how smooth* and cool the ball is． You can feel how heavy the glass is． When you feel all these about the ball, you really see it． With your skin, you can feel better． For example, your fingers can tell the difference between two coins*  in your pocket． You can feel a little drop of water on the back of your hand, too．
All children soon learn what “Don’t touch!” means． They hear it often． Yet most of us keep on touching things as we grow up． In shops, we touch things as we might buy: food, clothes． To see something well, we have to touch it．
There are ways of learning to see well by feeling． One way is to close your eyes and try to feel everything that touching your skin． Feel the shoes on your feet, the clothes on your body, the air on your skin． At first, it is not easy to feel these things． You are too used to them!
Most museums are just for looking． But today some museums have some things to touch． Their signs say, “Do touch!” There you can feel everything on show． If we want to see better, reach out and touch． Then you will really see!
【小题1】By touching things, ______．

There are many things we should know, but we do not learn them at school. For example, if we want to use our money better, we need to shop carefully. We need to know how to compare（比较） the prices of the things in different shops. We also should know how to make the best choice when we shop.

      Knowing how to make such choices is a life skill, and we should practice it in our daily life.

1.Which supermarket has the longest business hours?

A. Supermarket W.                                         B. Supermarket T.    

C. Supermarket Y.                                            D. Supermarket U.

2.The price of the meat in     is the same as that in           .

A. Supermarket W, Supermarket U            

B. Supermarket Y, Supermarket T

C. Supermarket W, Supermarket Y             

D. Supermarket U, Supermarket T

3. If you want to spend the least money on eggs, which supermarket will you go to?

A. Supermarket W.                                         B. Supermarket U.    

C. Supermarket Y.                                            D. Supermarket T.

4. Which supermarket has the best service?

A. Supermarket W.                                            

B. Supermarket T.    

C. Supermarket U.                                               

D. Supermarket Y.

5. What may be the reason if Linda usually shops in Supermarket Y?

A. The environment.                                      B. The service.         

C. The business hours.                                   D. The price.

Clothing is a language. It tells us about individual people: their personality, their age, their place in society and so on. If we want to know more about society, we can look at traditional clothing.

The continent of Africa has a long history and a rich culture, and this is shown in traditional dress. You often find three colours — red, gold and green in the clothing. The first colour stands for the blood of millions of people who suffered as slaves(奴隶); the second is for the rich resources of the African earth; and the third represents the grasslands of home.
The patterns(图案) on the clothing also have a meaning. A common pattern is in the form of a cross “×”, which stands for “unity”. Another pattern is a rectangular box, which represents “strength”.
Because clothing has a strong social meaning, people are very careful in choosing what to wear. It would be a serious mistake to wear the wrong clothing, or to wear clothes in the wrong way. For instance, in Ghana, a woman should wear her waistband differently according to the importance of the social event.
Traditional dress also tells us about everyday life. African designs are famous for loose(宽松的) clothing. The climate, with the hot sun and wide temperature ranges(变化), requires that the clothes are comfortable for daily life.
Although many people wear western clothes, particularly in the big cities in Africa, traditional dress is very highly valued(评价). This is because it has deep cultural meanings.
【小题1】According to the passage, red ________.

任务型阅读(注意：每空1个单词)。

Future and Today

　　It is well known that everyone has his own dream as well as his own future. But do you know what future really is ? I have to say that future is now. That is to say we must treasure every minute now. If we want to have a bright future, we should know how important time is and use it well.

　　There is an old English saying: "Gain time, gain life." Then what's time? Time is something that we can't see or touch, but we can feel it passing by. Time is always with us. When we are at table, time passes; when we play, time goes by unnoticeable. We always say "Time is money", but time is even more precious(珍贵的)than money, because when money is spent , we can earn it back. But if time is gone away, it will never return. So, some of us even say time is priceless(无价的).

　　We should always remember: future is now. For us students, we should try our best to work hard in order to create a great future of our own. We should make the best use of every hour and be the master of today. We should do everything before us as well as possible. And never put off what can be done today till tomorrow.

　　As we all know , "Time and tide wait for no man." If you waste today, you will regret tomorrow. So from now on, work hard. Tomorrow will be better, and your future will be brighter .Remember: "No pains, no gains." Today's hard work is the cause of tomorrow's harvest.

　                   　Title: Future and Today