My interest in Chinese food started many years ago, when I had my first job. I was a young reporter for the Daily Journal in San Francisco. Our office wasn’t far from Chinatown. I usually managed to arrange my time so that I could go there at least two or three times a week for a good meal.
The first time I ever ate Chinese food I loved it. And since then, it just tastes better and better to me. The first thing I noticed was the fresh tastes of the meat and vegetable. When I learned more about the food, I began to understand why it has this special feature.
About 5000 years ago, China lost much of its wood because of over population and poor management of its forest. This loss was very bad for the country, of course, but it turned out to be very good for the food. Wood became very expensive and hard to get, so the Chinese had to learn how to use it better.
In order to use less wood in cooking, they started to cut their meat and vegetables into small pieces before they put them in the hot oil. That way, the food cooked faster and they saved their fuel. The food prepared in this manner kept its fresh flavor(风味)—and it’s this flavor that attracts people to the art of Chinese cooking.
I often wonder if the Chinese appreciated their solution to that ancient energy problem as much as I do now –whenever I eat Chinese food.
【小题1】This passage is mainly about _________.

Jack is the name of a game. It is quite popular with children. To play jacks, you will need a small ball and ten small metal objects (物体) called jacks.
The rules for this game are quite easy. To begin with, put the ten jacks on the floor or ground in front of you. Toss the ball high, pick up one jack and then catch the ball. Keep the jack in your hand and go on to pick up the other jack one at a time. You lose your turn if you do not catch the ball, or if you do not pick up a jack, or if you drop (掉) any of the jacks from your hand.
When you finish all the ten jacks, you now try to do the same thing again but with two jacks at one time. This is more difficult, of course. You lose your turn if you make any of the above three mistakes (错误) or if you do not pick up two jacks each time.
【小题1】To play jacks is ___________.

This is Betty’s bedroom. Please come in and have a look at the pictures in the room. Let’s look at the one on the desk first(首先), please. It’s small but very good. It’s a photo of a man, Bob Brown, and a boy, Richard Brown. Mr. Brown is Richard’s father. And Richard is the son of the man. He’s twelve years old and is a middle school student. 
Can you see that big one on the wall? It is a picture of a nice woman, Helen Brown, and a lovely(可爱的)girl, Betty Brown. Helen is Bob’s wife, and she is Betty and Richard’s mother. Betty is young. She’s only six.  
【小题1】It’s Richard’s bedroom. 
【小题2】Bob is father of Richard. 
【小题3】Betty isn’t Richard’s sister. 
【小题4】Helen Brown has two children. 
【小题5】Helen has a sister. 

This is John’s bedroom. It’s very nice. You can see two beautiful pictures on the wall. Under the pictures you can see a big desk. A lamp(台灯) and a computer are on the desk. Near the desk you can see a big bookcase. There are many books in it. Near the bookcase you can see a small chair. Are there any photos on the chair? Yes, you can see two. Where is John’s cat? It’s under his bed.
【小题1】We can see two beautiful pictures in John’s bedroom.
【小题2】Some books and a computer are on the small chair.
【小题3】A dog is on the sofa.
【小题4】Two photos are on the floor.
【小题5】John’s cat is under his bed.

Carl and Ben are twins(双胞胎). They are twelve. This is their bedroom. It’s a nice room. There are two beds in the room. The yellow bed is Carl’s and that green one is Ben’s. The twins have one desk and two chairs. The chairs look the same. Carl’s jacket is on his bed. Ben’s coat is on his chair. Their clock, books and pencil boxes are on the desk. Their school bags are behind the chairs. 
【小题1】Carl and Ben are ________.         

Here is a new picture. There are four boys and three girls in the room. They are all students. The boy on the desk is Jim. The girl near the window is Kate. Jim’s sister Jane is on the chair. Ann is behind Mike. They are behind the door. Mike’s brother Sam is under the table. Where is Tom? Oh, he is over there, under the bed! They are all very happy.
【小题1】_______ girls and ______ boys in the picture are all students.

Rico is a dog who lives in Germany(德国). His owners trained him from a young age to find his toys. When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to know the names of 200 toys!
Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico. They put his toys in a room and then told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico, he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times. Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!
Then the researchers tried something else. They put seven of Rico’s toys in the room together with one new toy that Rico had never seen before. Then they told Rico to go into the room and get the new toy. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the right toy seven out of ten times!
Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language. However, these tests seem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows. In fact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child.
From these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think about.
【小题1】From the passage we know that Rico is good at ______.

Starting a stamp collection is easy and not very expensive. Before you start, you need to decide what kind of stamps you want to collect. Most people collect stamps that they are interested in: a certain country or an animal, a famous person or even a sport. Whatever you choose, you will find that there is a world of knowledge in stamps: you will learn about people, geography, building, history and culture.
You can collect stamps from letters, ask your friends to let you have their old stamps, or you can buy used stamps. When you get a letter with a stamp on it, carefully cut out the stamp. Leave lots of space around the stamp so that you will not damage it. Put the stamp in water and wait until you can safely remove the stamp. Carefully remove the stamp off the letter. Place the wet stamp between two clean pieces of paper. A stamp can get wrinkled(褶皱的) when it dries, so put some books on top.
【小题1】What does the writer think of collecting stamps?

Making friends is a skill, and the first thing is to know how to get along with others. If you have trouble in _________ friends, maybe I can tell you how to do it. Firstly, realize your own good points. You have skills and talents that others will like. Secondly, believe that you are a good person and have something nice to share with others. Thirdly, be humorous. Learn to laugh at yourself and your weakness. Remember to smile to others. __________, respect the others .Everyone has his own idea. Learn how to listen to others' ideas without trying to make them accept yours. Fifthly, be kind. If you are kind to others, they will usually be kind to you. （2）There are hundreds of little things you can do to show kindness. Open the door for someone, wave to a friend and so on. Sixthly, don't complain. Learn to accept what you can't change, and work hard to change what you can. No one is willing to hear your complaint all the time. Finally, never give up. And try to find someone who will understand you.
【小题1】在文章空白处填上恰当的词，使语意连贯。
__________  ___________
【小题2】 在文中找到下列句子的同义句并下写在横线上。
People are usually kind to each other.
______________________________________________________
【小题3】 将（2）翻译成中文。
______________________________________________________
【小题4】 How many pieces of advice does the writer give us?
______________________________________________________
【小题5】 找出或写出文章的主题句。
_______________________________________________________