Playing is a serious business for children. In fact, it’s what they do best! Ask them why they do it, and kids will probably say, "Because it’s fun!" But it’s much more than that. It’s also good for them.

 Studies show that from birth babies begin learning through playing. They use their five senses to get to know their new world. Touching allows them to discover how different things feel. Brightly colored toys and clothing help develop a baby’s sense of sight.

   When small children choose which toy to play with, they begin developing their abilities in   making decisions. Children love toys that allow them to use their imagination. Sometimes an empty box is more fun than a high-tech (高科技) toy. That’s because a box can become anything a child imagines it to be.

   Crayons, paints and Ply-Doha（彩色塑泥） are also good because they allow children to create. Traditional building blocks teach important pre-math skills like problem-solving.

   Playing doesn’t become any less important once children start school.   ?    . Kids learn how to share, take turns and play by the rules（规则）．

1 Why is playing a serious business for children?

   A. Because it is fun.

   B. Because children like playing.

   C. Because children can get much more from playing.

   D. Because children make friends through playing.

2 Which sentence can be filled in the          ？

   A. Classroom is the most important place for children to learn life.

   B. Many useful lessons about life are learned on the school playground.

   C. Five senses are used in children’s study when they are at school.

   D. Children like to go to school if they can play on the school playground.

3 Which of the following is true?

   A. Arts can develop children’s creative ideas.

   B. Babies learn everything through playing.

   C. An empty box is less fun than a high-tech toy for children.

   D. Playing is no longer important for children after they start school.

4 What’s the passage mainly about?

   A. How to play with children.            B. How to develop children’s five senses.

   C. Playing is fun for children.            D. Playing is good for children’s development.

Do you know Weibo? Do you write a Weibo? If you don't, you are "out"! Weibo means microblog. People may spend muchtime writing a blog, but it takes a little time to write a microblog.Why? Because every message on a microblog is less than 140 words.

Microblog started in the USA. It came to China in 2009 andit has developed very fast. In 2011, the number of Chinesemicro-bloggers grew to 300 million. Now, more and more people are interested in writing microblogs. For manymicroblog users, it is a great way of learning the freshest news,talking with friends and sharing different kinds of information, including news, daily life, pictures,music and so on. Many stars and famous people also write microblogs and share good things with theirfans.
It is easy and fast to send a message on a microblog. However, this can also lead to problems and even cause panic . For example, when thebig earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March, 2011, messages like " Salt can protectpeople from radiation" were hot on microblogs. It soon caused a crazy buying of salt. Later people realized it was just arumor (谣言).
In a word, microblog plays a new role in the life of Chinese people.
【小题1】People spend _____ time and _____ words writing microblog.