Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything -- tutors, cards, special learning centers -- in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic（天主教的） school.

    After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and paper were spread（铺开）out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

    Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His morn looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity（好奇心）. She went to his room and asked, "son, what was it? Was it the nuns（修女）?"

    Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head（摇动）, "No."

    "Well then," she asked again. "What was it?"

    Little Tommy looked at her and said, "Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed（钉） to the plus sign（加号）, I knew they weren't joking."

1. Why did Tommy's parents send him to a catholic school?

    A. Because he could eat well there.

    B. Because he could learn more about nuns.

    C. Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math.

    D. Because his parents didn't want him to learn math any more.

2. Tommy's mother felt surprised that his son _____.

    A. was still the same

    B. ate so much at dinner

    C. kissed her hello after school

    D. worked so hard but said too little

3. The phrase "hit the books" means “_____” in Chinese.

A. 用功                       B. 捶书                       C. 发泄                       D. 振作

4. The last sentence in the passage shows that ______.

    A. Tommy felt sorry for the man

    B. Tommy didn't like the plus sign

    C. Tommy was afraid of being nailed

    D. Tommy liked playing jokes on others

Have you ever stayed in a hotel ? Most Chinese hotels often provide guests with things like disposable(一次性的) toothbrushes , toothpaste , shampoo, and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don’t have to bring their own . But , if you travel to Beijing , remember to bring your own things. Starting from now on , some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use less disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources and is very bad for the environment . Do you know , one Chinese person makes as much as 400Kg of waste a year! Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing , people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to break down. So the less plastic we throw out, the better. So, wherever you travel , bring your own things and use them again and again .
Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place .Try to do these things in your daily life: Use cloth shopping bags , not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag , wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school canteen(食堂), use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of disposable ones.
【小题1】Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things ?