David is a middle school student. He had lived in a small village for fifteen years. ?? 1.??? His father, Mr. Hill, was a rich farmer and later on he opened a shop in our town. He bought a house here last month. His family moved to the new house and his son began to study in our class. But he had few friends here. 2.???

His neighbor Cathy is a kind girl. She has many friends. She finds the boy never talks with anybody and decides to help him. ???? 3.? Now they’re good friends.

One afternoon, Cathy told David, “???? 4.??? I'll have a birthday party. Would you like to come?”

“Certainly. I’m glad to,” the boy said happily.

David got home and thought of a present he could give to Cathy. ? 5.??? He couldn’t telephone her because he didn’t know her number. At that moment Mrs. Hill came and asked, “What’s the matter, dear?”

“What would you like if it was your sixteenth birthday, Mom?”

“Nothing,” the woman said, “I just wish I were sixteen.”

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase” once in a blue moon”? People use this expression to describe something that they do not do very often. For example, someone might say that he tries to avoid eating sweets because they are unhealthy, but will eat chocolate” once in a blue moon”. Or someone who does not usually like to go to the beach might say “I visit the shore once in a blue moon.”While many people use this phrase, not everyone knows the meaning behind it.
The first thing to know is that the moon itself is never really blue. This is just an expression. In fact, the phrase” blue moon” has to do with the shape of the moon, not the color.
As the moon travels around the earth, it appears to change shape. We associate certain names with certain shapes of the moon. For example, when we can see a small part of the moon it is called a crescent moon. A crescent is a shape that looks like the tip of a fingernail when we cannot see the moon at all; it is called a new moon.
When we can see the whole moon is called a full moon. Usually, there is only one full moon every month. Sometimes, however there will be two full moons in one month. When this happens, the second full moon is called a blue moon”.
Over the next 20 years, there will only be 15 blue moons. As you can see, a blue moon is a very rare (稀有的)event. This fact has led people to use the expression” once in a blue moon” to describe other very rare events in their lives.
【小题1】Which of the following would be a good example of using the phrase” once in a blue moon”.

Women are said to be very complex（复杂的）and not easy to understand. And so it is said that it is __16____ to buy gifts for them that will please them and make them _17  ___. On this holiday season, all husbands begin their search for the one good gift for their wives. Naturally, all husbands love their wives in many ways even in a simplest form of love that is why their gifts are all very precious（珍贵的）.

A wife is very __  18__ every day, and she has many things in mind like things needed for the children, food for the ___19_ even budgeting money for everyday needs. The most important that a wife puts on her mind is the _20___ of her family members. She’s always worrying about the one of the family members who goes out . So it’s important for a man to give his wife a good gift.

You could also give some personalized things with the name on it! Giving her phone also puts on her mind that ___21____between the two of you is very important! This makes your distance (距离)very _22___ even on a distant(遥远的) place. Jewelry（珠宝） could also be a gift for your wife. It is common, _23__ not all husbands can give a set of jewelry to their wife.

Those are the Women’s Day gift ideas for wife. Whatever the gift is, make sure it is filled _24___ love, and is straight from your heart. This leaves a mark on her heart that _25___ could erase(除去).

1.A. difficult B. easy C. necessary

2.A. angry B. happy C. hungry

3.A. free B. strict C. busy

4.A. herself B. family C. you

5.A. safety B. clothes C. work

6.A. love B. distance C. communication

7.A. far B. small C. close

8.A. so B. and C. but

9.A. with B. in C. of

10.A. someone B. nobody C. anybody

I have a pen pal in Canada. His name is Simon. He lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is twelve years old. He also studies in a middle school.
Simon lives in a happy family. His father is a policeman and his mother is a bank clerk (职员). Simon and his parents like exercising. They almost exercise every day. Simon’s father is tall. He is good at playing basketball. Simon’s mother likes playing volleyball.
Simon usually gets up at 6.30 am. He eats his breakfast at home. Then he goes to school. It’s kind of far from the school to his home, so he usually has his lunch at school.
Usually, Simon does his homework four times a week. Simon likes watching TV. He u­sually watches TV for about one hour every day. He goes to bed at nine.
【小题1】Where does Simon come from?