Although English is not as old as Chinese, it is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always creating(创造) new words, and we are often able to know where most words come from.

　　Sometimes, no one may really know where a word comes from. Did you every think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe(欧洲). They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg. They didn't speak good English, but they ate good food. When some Americans saw them eating a round piece of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans didn't understand the question and answered：“We come from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant. He had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of bread and started selling them. Such bread came to be called “hamburgers”. Today, “hamburgers” are sold in many countries around the world.

　　Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why any word has a certain(一定的) meaning is interesting, too. This reason(原因), for most English words, can be found in any large English dictionary.

1．According to the writer, English is ________.

[　　]

A．very difficult to learn

B．not so old as Chinese

C．as old as Chinese

D．older than Chinese

2．Hamburg is ________.

[　　]

A．a round piece of beef

B．a kind of food

C．a city in Germany

D．the name of a village

3．According to the passage, ________.

[　　]

A．hamburgers are made with beef

B．a few Americans like hamburgers

C．hamburgers are made with ham

D．hamburgers were first sold about a century ago

4．Which of the following can often be found in any large English dictionary?

[　　]

A．Where those Germans came from.

B．Where all the new words come from

C．The reason why a word has a certain meaning.

D．The reason why English is spoken around the world.

5．From the story we lean that the word “hamburger” comes from ________.

[　　]

A．the round piece of beef which those people from Hamburg were eating

B．English speakers because they always create new words

C．China because it has a long history

D．English because Germans don't speak good English

Fire can help people in many ways. But it can also be very harmful. Fire can make water hot and house warm, give light and cook food. But fire can burn (燃烧) things, too. It can make trees, houses, animals and other things catch fire (起火). If some people can't run away from fire, it can kill them. This happens in every country every year.
Sometimes big fire can burn forests. A month ago, a large forest fire broke out in Yunnan Province. It lasted nearly half a month. The forest in Heilongjiang Province and the grassland in Inner Mongolia caught fire in May, 2006. After more than ten days' fight, over 30,000 people and soldiers put out (扑灭) the fire at last.
Nobody knows clearly when people began to make fire, but there are many interesting stories about the first time a man or a woman started a fire. One story from Australia tells about a man who went to the sun and brought fire down a long time ago. Today people know how to make a fire with matches (火柴). Children sometimes like to play with them. But matches can be very dangerous. The match can burn a piece of paper and then it can burn a house. A small fire can become a big fire, and destroy many things. Fire kills many people every year. So you must be careful with fire.
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is that _________.

Fire can help people in many ways. But it can also be very harmful. Fire can make water hot and house warm, give light and cook food. But fire can burn (燃烧) things, too. It can make trees, houses, animals and other things catch fire (起火). If some people can't run away from fire, it can kill them. This happens in every country every year.

Sometimes big fire can burn forests. A month ago, a large forest fire broke out in Yunnan Province. It lasted nearly half a month. The forest in Heilongjiang Province and the grassland in Inner Mongolia caught fire in May, 2006. After more than ten days' fight, over 30,000 people and soldiers put out (扑灭) the fire at last.

Nobody knows clearly when people began to make fire, but there are many interesting stories about the first time a man or a woman started a fire. One story from Australia tells about a man who went to the sun and brought fire down a long time ago. Today people know how to make a fire with matches (火柴). Children sometimes like to play with them. But matches can be very dangerous. The match can burn a piece of paper and then it can burn a house. A small fire can become a big fire, and destroy many things. Fire kills many people every year. So you must be careful with fire.

1.The main idea of the passage is that _________.

2.Matches can be dangerous because _________.

3.The word “destroy” in the passage means ________in Chinese.

4.The writer of the passage wants to tell us that ________.