Have you ever seen snow? Many people in the world have not. Some countries never have snow; some have only a little on the tops of very high mountains. In the north of England, there is quite a lot of snow every winter, but in the south of England, there is usually little.
When a student from a warm country comes to England in autumn for the first time, he feels cold at first. There are often dark clouds, grey sky and cold rain in England in autumn, and most students from warm countries do not like this.
But snow is different. Though it is cold, it is also beautiful. Perhaps, after several dark mornings, the student wakes up one day, and there is a lot of light in his room. He thinks “Is it so late?” and jumps out of bed. But no, it is not very late. He looks out of the window and there is the snow on the ground and on the houses and everywhere. The light of his room comes from clean, beautiful snow.
【小题1】In which part of England is there much snow in winter?

Basketball is still a young game. It's over a hundred years old. In the winter of 1891, a certain college was having some trouble with its boy students. The weather was bad and the students had to stay indoors. As they couldn't play outdoors, they were unhappy, and some even got into fights from time to time.
　　Some of the teachers, at the college asked Dr. Naismith to invent a game so that the students might have something to play with. It was not easy to invent such a game because it had to be played indoors , and the court (球场) was not very large.
　　Dr. Naismith thought for a few days and invented a kind of ball game. It was a fast, wonderful game with much moving and passing of the ball. It was played between two teams. To make a score , the ball had to be thrown into the basket ten feet(英尺) above the floor on the wall . At each end of the court there was such a basket. At first, Dr. Naismith wanted to throw the ball into a box. As he could not find boxes of the right size, he had to use fruit baskets instead. That is how the game got its name.
【小题1】How long is it since basketball was invented?

Bamboo (竹子) is one of nature's (自然) most surprising plants. Many people call this plant a tree, but it is a kind of grass.
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist reported one bamboo plant which grew 1. 5 metres(4 feet) in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe. There are more than 1, 000 kinds of bamboo.
Not all bamboo looks the same. Some bamboo plants are very thin. They may only grow to be a few centimetres wide while others may grow to more than 30 centimetres (1 foot) across. This plant also comes in different colours, from yellow to black to green.
Bamboo has been used to make many things such as hats and kitchen tools( 厨房用具). Because it is strong, bamboo is also used to build buildings.
Many Asian countries have used bamboo for hundreds of years. They often use bamboo for buildings and supporting (支撑) new buildings and bridges while they are being built.
In Africa, poor farmers are taught how to find water using bamboo. These African countries need cheap way to find water because they have no money, and their fields often die from no rain and no water. Bamboo pipes( 管子) help poor farmers bring water to their thirsty fields without spending a lot of money.
【小题1】How is bamboo like grass?

You might have noticed that the cost of food has gone up.In fact the price of wheat and rice has nearly doubled in the past few years.It’s thought that right now，850 million people—that’s more than 10 times the population of the UK—are short of food because it’s too expensive or there’s not enough of it.
The price of basic food such as wheat and corn has stayed the same for quite a long time，about 30 years.But as the world’s population is getting bigger，there’s more pressure to feed more people，plus there’s less land and water to go round.
Another reason is climate（气候）change.Droughts and floods make it hard to grow crops like rice and grain.The price of oil has gone up and that makes it more expensive for farmers to run their tractors and to transport the food they make.And lots of fields are being used to grow crops to make other things that can’t be eaten—which is bad news for hungry people.
The main losers are poor people who live in cities in poor countries，who are facing higher prices for food.Some people are doing well out of the food crisis（危机） though.Farmers in rich countries like the US，Canada and Australia are getting record prices for their harvests.
World leaders are meeting in the Italian capital Rome to talk about the problem of rising food prices.Some countries are helping out with the cost of foods and international aid agencies have called for more money for food production in poor countries.
【小题1】The price of food goes up because all of the following EXCEPT _____.

Singles’ Day (光棍节)falls on every November 11th, and as the name suggests, this holiday is one specially for people who are still living the single life. It’s surprising that China is the only country in the world that has set up a special day for singles to celebrate(庆祝) their lives. To find out more about this celebration, read on.
An old story goes that once there were four single men, leading very boring lives. None of them were married, or had lovers, or did anything exciting. They just sat around all day and played Mahjong（麻将）.
One day they played Mahjong from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. During the game, no matter who won, the winning card was always the 'Sitiao' card. And that day happened to be November 11th. In order to remember the day, they called it Singles’ Day.
For breakfast on Singles’ Day, singles often eat four youtiao, which means the four "ones" in "11.11". Many singles also choose to say goodbye to their single lives on this day. So they take part in 'blind date' parties , trying to find someone they love and many people choose to marry on this day. Besides the meaning 'single', the four 'ones' of the date can also mean 'only one' as in 'the only one for me.' Some people will use this date and this meaning to tell their special someone that they are the only 'one' in their heart.
【小题1】__________ first called November 11^th Singles’ Day.

Just a Quick Nap 只要打个盹儿
Do you feel a little sleepy after lunch? Well, that’s normal. Your body naturally slows down then. What should you do about it? Don’t reach for a coffee! Instead, take a nap.
It’s good to have a daily nap. First of all , you are more efficient（有效的） after napping . You remember things better and make fewer mistakes. Also, you can learn things more easily after taking a nap. A nap may increase your self-confidence（自信） and make you more active . It may even cheer you up. But, there are some simple rules you should follow about taking a nap. First, take a nap in the middle of day, about eight hours after you wake up. Next, a 20-minute nap is best. If you sleep longer, you may fall into a deep sleep. After waking from a deep sleep, you will feel worse. Also, you should set an alarm clock. That way, you can fully relax during your nap. You won’t have to keep looking at the clock so you don’t oversleep.
Now，the next time you feel sleepy after lunch , don’t get stressed . Put your head down, close your eyes, and catch forty winks.
【小题1】It is       to get sleepy for you at noon.
A. normal          B. strange         C. amazing
【小题2】After taking a nap, you may feel more        .
A. stressed         B. confident        C. sleepy
【小题3】The proper period（一段时间）of time for taking a nap is      .
A. as long as you like       B. eight hours     C. about twenty minutes
【小题4】What can help you have a fully relaxing nap according to the passage?
A. A cup of coffee.         B. A quick meal.   C. An alarm clock.
【小题5】What is the text mainly about?
A. Why and how to take a nap.
B. Rules to increase your self –confidence.
C. How to make your body slow down.

Are you carrying too much on your back at school? You’re not alone. Back experts(专家) in the USA are worried about that young students are having back and neck problems because they are carrying too much in their backpacks .
“It hurts my back when I run,” said Ebelin Reyes, a student in Virginia. “It’s hard to get up the stairs with my backpack because it’s too heavy.” Students have to carry heavy backpacks on their backs for a whole week’s study. Ebelin is one of them. They have   regular(固定的)backpacks with two straps(带子) to carry them, but a number of students with heavy loads(负担) have switched to rolling backpacks. The backpacks have wheels and can roll on the ground. Shirley Park’s backpack weighs 10 kilos, and she said, “I’ll change to a rolling backpack because I am starting to have back pain.”
How much is too much? Experts say that students should carry no more than 10% to 15% of their own body weight. A few students have had a good idea to lighten(减轻) the load: less homework.
Doctor’s suggestions:
Lighten the load. Take home only the books the students need that day.
(2) Wide straps are better. They can send out weight over your shoulders (肩)and be sure to wear backpacks with two straps.
(3) The heaviest things should be packed closest to the back.
(4) Bend(弯曲) both knees when you pick up the pack, don’t just bend over the waist(腰).
【小题1】The main idea of the passage is about _______.

任务型阅读（共5 分）
New rules and behavior standards(行为规范)for middle school students came out in March. ①Who are  the  most     excellect student? Middle school uses a new way to decide them. The best students won’t only have high marks. They will also be kids who don’t dye(染  ) their hair,smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the trueth. Have you ever copied someone else’s   work on an exam? Don’t do it again. That’s not something an honest student should do. If you have played computer games for two hours in your room,don’t tell your parents you have done your homework.
Do more at school.②Good students love animals and care for others. April is Bird- Loving Moth in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate?  You should join!That way, you can learn more abaout animals ahd hoe to protest them. When people work together, it makes it more fun for everyone.
Be open to new to new ideas. Have you thought that people live on the moon?Maybe you discover Earth someday. Don’t look down on new ideas. Everyone’s ideas are important. You should welcome them,because new ideas make life better for everyone.
③Use the Internet carefully.Try not to look at Web pages that are bad for you.
You can use the Web for homework. Can’t you find good Web sites for children?
Here are some: Http://kids.eastday.com http://www.chinakids.net.com http://www.cycnet.com
【小题1】根据①完成下面的句子（每空一词）
Middle school uses a new way to decide ______the most excellent students _____.
【小题2】将②处译成汉语。
______________________________________________.
【小题3】根据③处完成下面的句子（每空一词）
If you ______ the Internet, you should ________ away from unhealthy Web pages.

There are no peasants (农民) in Britain. The workers on a farm are called farm workers. The farmer pays them every week. There are not many workers on a farm. The farmers have many machines. The machines do most of the work. A farm with four workers is a big farm, and a farm with one worker is a small farm.
Britain does not grow rice. The summer is not hot enough. The most important grain crop in Britain is wheat. Wheat and other crops grow best in the east of Britain. In the west there is a lot of rain. Here grass grows very well. So, in the west of Britain, most farms are animal farms. They are not crop farms. The Britain winter is warm and the grass grows all the year. The animals live out in the fields and on the highlands all the year. The Britain people eat lots of meat and they drink lots of milk. Cattle give milk and meat, sheep give meat. Cattle and sheep farms are in the west. Pigs are on farms here and there.
Britain can now produce about half of its food. It doesn’t produce enough wheat, so some wheat is imported (进口) from other countries. Britain must also import all the hot climate food, such as rice, tea, coffee and so on.
Judge the following sentences true(T) or false(F) 根据短文内容判断正误(每题两分，10分)
【小题1】In Britain, a big farm has only four workers.
【小题2】The Britain summer isn’t very hot so rice doesn’t grow well in Britain.
【小题3】In the west of Britain, there are lots of crop farms.
【小题4】The animals can live out all the year because the Britain farmers don’t like to keep the animals inside in winter.
【小题5】Britain can produce half of its food