Look at the paper in the picture carefully. Is there anything different from your notebook paper? This kind of paper feels as soft as your notebook paper. It’s also easy to write on. But do you know, this kind of paper is made from stone?

As we know, stone is easy to get on the earth, so it’s cheap. And the stone paper is about 20% to 30% cheaper than ordinary paper. The stone paper causes little pollution and helps protect the environment, because it makes tree and water free. The following table shows what is needed to make one ton of stone paper and one ton of ordinary paper. 

Now in Beijing, some students begin to use stone paper to do their homework. And during the two sessions (两会) in 2011, stone paper was also used.

1.Stone paper is ______________.

    A. cheap          B. difficult to write on    C. not soft          D. bad

2. We need  _______________ ton of stone to make one ton of stone paper..

    A. 0.8            B. 0.3                 C.  0.2           D. 0.25

3. ________________in Beijing begin to use stone paper to do their homework.

    A. All the students   B. Some students       C. Many students   D. Nobody

Now, there is a new-type school in New York, which has no everyday lessons, no class teachers and even no school buildings. It is called “City-as-School”. The name just means the city itself is the place where students learn their lessons. They are from the age of 15 to 18. The students choose areas of work which interest them. Then they help to do that work. One girl spends her week in a government office helping the public with problems like housing. Then she goes to help in a theatre for a day and she spends a week for first-year courses at college.

Well, students have to pass Maths and science exams before they enter the “school”. These subjects are not easy to provide in“City-as-School”. Teachers watch the progress of the students. The success rate (比率) is high. 80% of the students go to college after the “City-as-School”.

The students like the duty of their work. They have the sense of purpose. They know a lot about different kinds of work in the city. One of the students, Lizette Martinez, writes “ I want to say that I do not know where I would be right now if I had never become part of City-as-School. Leaving my regular high school and going to City-as-School was the best decision I have ever made. The way the school works to get you to go out there and learn different fields instead of sitting in a classroom is wonderful. For all those who are in between school and dropping out, go to CAS and it will change your life forever.”

City-as-School High School is the nation’s leading (引导) external (外部地) learning or experiential (来自经验的) learning model for high school students.

1.What can we learn about“City-as-School”?

A. It has no teachers.                

B. It has no school buildings.

C. It has only girl students.             

D. It is the only school in the city.

2.What do students do in“City-as-School”most of the time?

A. They do whatever they like.        

B. They learn Maths and Science.

C. They help with work in a certain area. 

D. They learn all the college courses.

3.According to the passage,“City-as–School” can help _________.

A. all the students go to college      

B. students forget the duty of their work

C. students earn much money while studying

D. students learn a lot about different kinds of work

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. A New City                   B. A New School   

C. A New-type School              D. A Girl in New York

I am Li Lei. I am a student in No. 8 Middle School. My school is big and nice. On weekdays all the students live in the school. Some of our teachers live with us. They are like our parents. We are very happy in the school.

We usually get up at six o’clock in the morning. First，we do morning exercises for half an hour on the playground(操场).Then all the students and teachers have breakfast in the dining hall(食堂).After breakfast, I usually read English with my classmates in the classroom．

Of all the weekday，I like Thursday best，because I have a music lesson on Thursday. Music is my favorite subject. I usually have four lessons in the morning and three lessons in the aftermoon. But on Thursday aftemoon we only have two 1essons.

I like my classmates and teachers. My school life is very good.

1.LiLei’s school is __________.

A. big and nice    B. big and old    C. old and small

2.Li Lei has breakfast at about   in the morning

A. 6：00    B. 6：30    C. 7：00

3.Li Lei usually      after breakfast.

A. does morning exercises  B. has a music lesson    C. reads English

4.which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. All the students and teachers live in school from Monday to Friday.

B. Of all subjects, Li Lei likes English best.

C. Thursday is Li Lei’s favorite day.

5.LiLei has    lessons on Thursday.

A. five    B. six    C. seven

The junior high school graduates have to take a P.E. test in many places around China. The full marks are usually 30 points and it means much in the senior high school entrance exam.

In Nanjing, the test is held in April. Students have the test in their own schools. Each student is tested on three sports. They can choose long jump, basketball dribbling (运球) or volleyball. The pull-up is for boys and girls can choose the sit-up. Both boys and girls must skip in the test.

Most students find the test easy and more than 90％of them can get full marks. That’s because they have been training for it during the three whole years. Students in Junior Three usually do lots of practice in P.E. classes. The training makes the test easier than it seems to be.

Students in Nanjing don’t need to run a lot for the test, but students in Beijing must do lots of running for the test. Running is one of the sports in test. So in P.E. classes, they usually run a lot. Sometimes they have to run 3,000 meters in one class. Most teachers and parents welcome the P.E. test. They say it helps students build up their health.

1.The P.E. test in Nanjing includes all of these sports except __________.

A. skipping        B. basketball           C. football              D. volleyball

2.Students in Nanjing have the P.E. test in __________.

A. spring          B. Junior One                C. autumn             D. Junior Two

3.The underlined word “pull-up” means “__________” in Chinese.

A. 仰卧起坐        B. 引体向上       C. 俯卧撑             D. 跳高

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. All the students must be tested on skipping in Nanjing.

B. Few students in Nanjingcan get full marks in the P.E. test.

C. Students in Beijing needn’t run during the test.

D. Students in Nanjing should take part in four sports in the P.E. test.

5.What do most teachers and parents think of the P.E. test? _____________

A. It is difficult.     B. It is easy.           C. It is bad.    D. It is good.

The first English week at our school started on May 4th, 2009. The whole school was filled with an English learning atmosphere. A series of activities was held. There were handwriting activities, story writing, English songs, role playing in English, and so on, all the teachers and students were very happy. They spoke English, sang English songs and enjoyed all the activities. Handwriting was for the students in lower grades. Although most of them couldn’t write so well, they were all very careful about it. In the show window, there were a lot of colorful handwritten papers. They copied some articles from books or newspapers. And then they decorated(装饰) them with pictures in different colors, and some even put their own photos on them. How cute and lovely they looked!

Story writing was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8. These students are always fond of cartoons, so they got interested in this activity. Reading the stories they made up, all the visitors couldn’t help speaking highly of them.

The most important event was the English show on the last day. The students and teachers presented (上演) a lot of English songs and English operas. Each program won storms of applause.

    One week is not very long, but all the students and teachers learned a lot. Just as the headmaster said, “It is a helpful week. It will certainly lead us to enjoy and learn more from our English studies.”

1. In this passage, the English week is described as__________.

A. surprising            B. boring       C. enjoyable               D. serious

2. Which of the following is NOT true?

A. All the students took part in the handwriting contest (比赛).

B. The story writing contest was for students in Grade 7 and Grade 8.

C. The English show was the most important event.

D. Teachers also took part in the English week.

3.What does the underlined word “applause” probably mean?

A. Noise      B. Cheer      C. Sound             D. Music

4.What does the writer probably want to tell us at the end of the passage?

A. The activities are a good way to learn English.

B. Students usually don’t like English.

C. The activities last longer.

D. Learning English in the classroom is invaluable.