I will tell you the truth about plastic bags－the positive and the negative sides and provide a solution to this problem. Whether it is a shopping bag, a food bag or a trash bag, they are all made of plastic bags. Grocery store owners are very generous in using plastic bags. They place the fruit in one bag and drop the box of milk in another. Ever wonder why?

The positive side of plastic bags

Grocery stores, shopping centres, and restaurants are not thrifty in using and giving out plastic bags because they cost no more than a cent each, while a paper bag costs four cents. Plastic bags are produced so cheaply and massively（大量地）that they are used by 80% of store owners. In addition, they are light and very easy to carry and store.

The production of plastic bags has increased greatly over the last 20 years and producers of plastic bags are making large profits. However, the negative side of plastic bags is becoming well-known. More people are now getting worried that the earth is becoming a victim of the plastic bag success story.

The negative side of plastic bags

While production and consumption（消费）of plastic bags is good for business, it is not so for our Mother Earth. They have resulted in an increase in the amount of litter found floating in water or in the streets where we live.

Plastic storage bags, after usage, usually go to landfills（垃圾填埋地）as trash bags. They make the oceans poison sea animals. They give off toxins（毒素）when burned. They simply pollute the ground, air and water.

That is the true cost of plastic bags, and it looks like it is more than a cent. These are very alarming concerns and proper action needs to be taken.

1.According to Paragraph 3, plastic bag producers ________.

A．are now worried that the earth will become a victim of plastic bags

B．don’t think they have done enough to popularize plastic bags

C．have not realized the harm of plastic bags

D．have succeeded in popularizing the use of plastic bags

2.From the last three paragraphs, we learn that         .

A．plastic bags harm the earth severely

B．most plastic bags are not made use of

C．the prices of plastic bags are reasonable

D．plastic bags are the leading polluter on the earth

3.What will the writer most probably talk about in the following paragraph?

A．How plastic bags are produced.

B．How plastic bags are used.

C．How to popularize the use of paper bags.

D．How to solve the problems caused by plastic bags.

“How was school, Ben?” I asked my grandson after he began kindergarten(幼儿园) this year. “The work is too long… and there’s not enough time to play,” he replied.
I couldn’t help but remember Ben’s own mother, my daughter, Jane, and her reaction(反应) to the first day of school. Julie was also disappointed with the first day of school and so was her little sister. My three-year-old daughter announced angrily after her big sister got on the big yellow school bus, “I want to go ‘sool’ and you not let me!”
When Julie returned home that afternoon, I asked her the same question that I asked Ben, “How was school, Julie?” Julie replied, “I didn’t learn to read today.”
This year as the school bus passed my house, my mind went back to those school days again. I could almost smell the chalk dust in the air. I also wonder what the children these days manage to get chosen to do in order to get out of school for a few moments since there are no erasers to clean. It was fun to be “chosen” for eraser cleaning duty. This was a task finished by going outside and beating erasers together while sneezing and coughing. No wonder so many babies now have allergies(过敏症), and it’s simply because we all have chalk dust in our lungs!
On the first day of school, the expectation was so great that I would be ready long before it was time to leave for school. We didn’t have backpacks because we had cigar boxes. We carried our small supplies inside a cigar box from one of the local stores. We saved the cigar boxes and used them from year to year until they fell apart.
The first day of school was exciting. It was a new beginning. The doors of knowledge had been opened. The first day of school is an event in our lives that most of us remember. It’s a big step for a small child toward leaving babyhood and so “there isn’t enough time to play”.
【小题1】Why did Jane become angry according to the passage?

Text messaging, or simply “texting”, with allows people to send and receive messages on mobile phones, becomes very popular today.

The advantages of texting are obvious. Texting helps to save money. If you have a few words to greet your families and friends on their birthdays or on some important festivals, sending messages can be cheaper than phone calling. Texting helps to save time. Even if you want to send a message to 100 people, you can do it one second. Texting helps you to “talk” to someone when he is too busy to answer the phone. Texting can also help you to “talk” to someone secretly if you don’t want others to hear what you are talking on the phone. These advantages are so amazing that many people are crazy about it. They hold mobile phones in hands all day long, send dozens of messages each day, and even text while driving or walking.

 However, texting has its disadvantages. Junk messages may come into your mobile phone box now and then. When your phone box gets too full, you can’t receive any more messages. You may therefore miss some important information.

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

   They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

   The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

    There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

 “We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.

 “What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

 “Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

   Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

   The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

. Why were the children hiding in the tree?

 A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

 B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game

 C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true

 D. They were pretending to be spies

. Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when____

 A. her front steps were clean             B. she noticed the children in the tree

 C. she was ready to take a flight          D. she heard the hen cackling

. Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because_____

 A. he thought that she could be tricking them

 B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

 C. he did not see the old lady fall down

 D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

. Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

 A. Make hay while the sun shines.

 B. Never judge a book by its cover.

 C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

 D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

Surprises often come in boxes. Birthday presents wrapped in colorful paper, brown paper packages mailed from a friend. No matter what kind of box it is, people like to open it up and see what's inside. In America, and in many other countries, one special kind of box contains the future. It's called a ballot box. What people put into the box on election day can change the course of history.

Elections are the lifeblood of a democracy. The word democracy literally means "the people rule," an important concept in American history. In the mid-1700s, England began passing laws that made the American colonies angry. The colonists had to pay more and more taxes and enjoyed less and less freedom. They felt the government of England didn't represent their interests. On July 4, 1776, the colonies declared their independence from England. They wanted to establish a democracy where people could have a voice in government.

An effective democracy holds regular elections. In America, elections are held every two years for members of Congress. In these elections, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs. In addition, every four years, voters go to the polls to elect the nation's president and vice-president. Voters also regularly cast their ballots for state and city government leaders and local school board members. Sometimes they also have to vote on a proposed law.

In the American electoral system, people don't really vote for presidential candidates. Instead, voters cast their ballots for "electors" who support each candidate. Each state has as many electors as the total number of its representatives in Congress. This equals two senators per state plus the number of its representatives in the House (which is based on the state's population). The candidate who has the most votes in a state wins all of the state's electors. To win the presidential election, a candidate must gain at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes.

Over the years, the U.S. has made a number of election reforms. Some early reforms outlawed cheating, giving bribes and threatening voters. They also limited the amount of money candidates could receive from donors and spend on their campaigns. In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women. In recent decades, laws against unfair rules for voting have been passed. No longer do people have to pay a special tax or pass a test in order to vote. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18. Other reforms made voting easier for the blind, the disabled and people who couldn't read. In some areas, ballots had to be printed in languages besides English.

In November, Americans will again elect those who will represent them in government. Although some citizens aren't even registered to vote--and some registered voters don't bother to go to the polls--most Americans exercise their right to vote. They realize that their future is wrapped up in a special package--the ballot box. It's a package that must definitely be "handled with care."

1.According to the context, what does a “ballot box” mean in Chinese?

A．彩票箱           B．投票箱           C．礼品箱           D．保险箱

2.Democracy means that ____.

A．People couldn’t have a voice in a government.

B．In America, elections are held every four years for members of Congress.

C．Democracy is the lifeblood of elections.

D．Basically “ the people rule”, and it’s very important in American history.

3.How will the votes distributed if Romney got 20 votes while Obama received 17 votes in California in the election?

A．Romney will win 20 votes in California.

B．Obama will win 20 votes in California.

C．Romney will win 37 votes in California.

D．Obama will win 37 votes in California.

4. Which one is RIGHT about election reforms?

A．People have to pay a special tax to vote.

B．There are bribes and threatening in elections now.

C．People above eighteen years old can vote now.

D．The disabled or the blind have tough access to voting.

5. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Birthday boxes in the U.S.                 B．Election systems in the U.S.

C．Election reforms in the U.S.                D．Democracy in the U.S.