Rita stepped into the cool, moving water. She pushed a black inner tube(内胎) in front of her. She had a worried look on her face because she had never floated down a river before.
“Let me hold your tube while you climb on,” said her father. He smiled at her. “There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s a great day to be in the river, isn’t it?”
Rita looked out across the water. People were floating by on tubes. Some talked and laughed as they floated easily down the river. Others leaned(倚靠) back with hats pulled over their faces. None of them looked terrified.
“We’ll stay together,” said Rita’s father. “I’ll hold on to your rope(绳子).”
“Will we go very fast?” Rita asked.
“No,” said Dad. “We’ll move slowly for a while, and then it will get a little faster near the river’s bend(拐弯). Don’t worry, Rita. You’ll be fine.”
Rita looked at her tube. It gently(轻轻地) moved up and down in the water. She saw a girl of her own age float by. The girl seemed to be having fun. Suddenly Rita’s worries disappeared（消失）.
“I’m ready to climb on and ride, Dad,” she said.
【小题1】The underlined word “floated” in the reading means “________”.

John is my best friend. We live in the same building. We study in the same school but not in the same class. We often play football together after school. We have been good friends for two years.
John is tall and strong with black hair. He has a round face, a small nose and big, brown eyes. I like his eyes because they are always bright and smiling.
John is always friendly and helpful. When I feel bored or unhappy, he tells me funny jokes and makes me laugh. He’ll give me help when I need.
John is very smart. He reads a lot of books. He is good at singing and acts very well. He would like to make people happy with his songs and performance when he grows up. I believe that he can become as popular as Jackie Chan and travel around the world in the future.
【小题1】The writer and John are _____.