The marathon(马拉松) in my town usually takes place in hot weather. My job was to follow the runners to help those who needed medical help. “We should stay behind the last runner, so take it slowly,” I said to the driver, Doug.
As it began, the front runners started to disappear(消失). Then I noticed a woman in blue running shorts and a white T-shirt. “ Doug, look!” We knew we were watching our “last runner”. Her feet turned in , yet her left knee turned out. Her legs were so crippled(畸形的) that it seemed impossible for her to be able to walk. How could she run a marathon？
We watched in silence as she slowly moved forward. We would move forward a little bit, then stop and wait for her. Then we would slowly move forward a little bit more. As I watched her try to put one foot in front of the other, I found myself breathing for her. I wanted her to stop, and at the same time, I hoped that she wouldn’t. Finally, she was the only runner left in sight. When the finishing line came into sight, we found the cheering people had all gone home. She slowly crossed through the line and lifted her hands, full of happiness.
I do not know the woman’s name, but since that day she has become a part of my life. For her, it was about finishing what she had set out to do, no matter what. When I think things are too difficult and want to say “I just can’t do it”, I think of the last runner. Then I realize how easy the task before me really is.
【小题1】When does the marathon usually take place in the writer’s town？

It' s Sunday morning. There are many people in the park, some boys are playing basketball. There are some girls under a big tree. They' re singing and dancing. What are those women doing? They are drinking tea. Look at the woman in a blue coat.  Who' s she?  She' s my mother. She is talking to Edward. Edward is her student. He is a good student. He studies hard . He' s good at all the subjects. And he' s friendly to all his teachers and his friends.
【小题1】The boys are           .

【小题1】Tom and Fred talked about ____ .

阅读下文并回答问题。
Dave is my friend. His family is rich. His parents always give him lots of pocket money. But Dave thinks his parents work very hard and it's not easy for them, so he always tries his best to save money. He has some good ways to do it.
Dave likes reading. He has lots of books. He tells me he often buys books online, because they're cheaper. And when he has free time, he often goes to bookstores or libraries to do some reading.
Dave has a bike. He usually goes to school by bike instead of taking a bus. Sometimes when it rains or snows, he walks. These two ways help Dave keep healthy and save some money.
Dave brings a bottle of water to school every day. When other students drink juice, he enjoys his water. He thinks water is the cheapest but the best drink.
Some students think Dave is mean. But I don't think so. I think he is right. What do you think of him?
【小题1】Does Dave try his best to save money?
【小题2】How does Dave usually go to school?
【小题3】What does Dave bring to school every day?

Like most cultures around the world, the Zulu people of Africa tell stories that have animals as heroes. These stories are meant to entertain, but they are also used to teach important lessons to children. This is one of those stories.
One hot afternoon, Jackal was walking along the rocky road sniffing (嗅) the ground. He was hoping to smell a mouse or a lizard (蜥蜴), or something else that would be good to eat. He was so much lost in sniffing that he wasn’t really paying attention to what was around himself.
Suddenly, Jackal looked up to see his neighbor, Lion, walking straight toward him. He did not have enough time to get away. Jackal had played many tricks (捉弄) on Lion over of something quickly.
“Help! Help!” cried Jackal as he quickly jumped upon a large rock hanging over the road. “The rocks are falling down, and I can’t hold them much longer. We shall both be crushed (压碎) if you do not do your best to hold these rocks back, Lion”
At once, Lion pushed his strong shoulder against the rocks to keep them from moving any further. “I’ll just run over here to get something to stop the rocks,” shouted Jackal as he ran away to safety. Lion stayed leaning against the unmoving rocks for quite a long time before he realized that Jackal had tricked him yet again!
【小题1】Why was Jackal sniffing the ground?

beep …beep … There went the bell! Robbie opened his eyes. He had been sitting in the room for a whole day, and now it was time for him to do something.
Robbie looked out of the window. It was still snowing heavily and there was ice on the window. It was another cold day. Robbie was told to turn the heat on before the family got home. And he did it.
Then Robbie was told to do some cleaning work at once. It was an easy job for him, but a tough one for his master, Helen. He kept on working until every room was clean and tidy.
For now, he had to cook supper for the family.
The first thing Robbie did was to get the big pot(锅) in the kitchen. Then he put some water in the pot and put it on the stove. He used one of his hands to cut up a chicken and added the pieces to the water to make a good soup. Then he got some tomatoes, cabbages and carrots to make a vegetable salad.
At ten past eight he laid the table. Then he put some bread, the chicken soup and the salad on it. What a sweet smell! The moment he turned on the lights, the whole family came home.
“The soup smells great, Victor,” said Helen. “You really know how to tell Robbie what to do.”
Robbie is one robot that really saves the family a lot of work.
【小题1】What is Robbie?

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have just opened a small restaurant. In order to attract customers, they put a notice in front of the restaurant, which said: “Meals on the house for three days.”
A foreign student who didn’t know much English passed by the restaurant on the second day. It was lunchtime and he felt hungry. “Well, here is a restaurant. I’m going to have something to eat,” he said.
He saw the notice when he walked towards the restaurant. “American people are really strange. They even eat dinners on the house! But how can I get onto the top of the house?” he asked himself.
He looked around and found a ladder（梯子）against a tree nearby. He was very glad. But as he reached the top, he heard someone shouting at him: “Hey, what are you doing up there?” Mr Smith was looking at him angrily. Beside him was a policeman.
“Doesn’t your notice say ‘Meals on the house for three days’? Is it just a joke?” the foreign student answered.
On hearing this, both Mr Smith and the policeman burst into laughter(开怀大笑). “Do you know what On The House means?”
Do you know the meaning of On The House?
【小题1】The Smiths have ____________.

Nancy and Peter like sports. In summer they swim and in winter they ski. They are planning a ski trip for this weekend, but they don’t know about the weather. It’s 7:30 now, and they are listening to the weather report on the radio. The weatherman is giving the weather for the weekend.
“Friday is going to be cold and cloudy, but it’s not going to rain. It’s going to snow on Friday night and maybe Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon and Sunday are going to be cold and sunny.” Now Nancy and Peter are excited. The weather is going to be good for a ski trip. They are going to have a wonderful weekend in the mountains.
【小题1】When do Nancy and Peter listen to the weather report?

My father is tall and has short gray hair. He wears glasses with heavy black frames(框). Here is a picture of him from 1968. What a surprise! In the picture, he's 15 years old. He's short and he is wearing glasses with small round frames. He has short blond hair and it's really straight. He is wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt with the word "love" on it. I'm 15 years old now. I'm of medium height and I have short hair. My hair isn't blond. It's blue. My father thinks it's strange (奇怪的), but my friends think it's great. I wear glasses, but my glasses have bright red frames. They're so cool! I have an earring (耳环) in one ear, too. I never wear blue jeans. I' like big baggy pants (袋状裤) and long T-shirts. Most of my T-shirts have pictures of my favorite rock bands on them.
【小题1】What kind of glasses is the writer's father wearing in the picture?