Cold air. Snow. Shorter days. We are in winter now.
     Winter is the coldest season of the year. It comes between autumn and spring. For us, the winter
months are usually November, December and January. But that is only because we live in the northern
part of the Earth.
     In China, winter is the time between the beginning of winter, and the beginning of spring. But, this
is the time that the southern part of the Earth, has its summer. Imagine when we are playing with snow,
Australian kids are enjoying ice cream!
     Winter isn't always gray. It can also be bright. Here's how.
     Put on a holiday play and try acting. Ask your cousins or classmates to come to your house and make
beautiful clothes and write a play. Act it out for your family.
     Play around. Go outside and enjoy yourself. Make a snowman with your friends.
     If you really have to stay indoors, give your room a clean and decorate (装饰) it. You'll find it a lot
of fun.

1. What does this passage mainly talk bout?

A. The winter season and fun winter activities.
B. Ways to decorate houses.
C. The difference between China and Australia.
D. The colours linked to winter.

2. Why are Australian kids eating ice cream when it's winter in China?

A. Because they are crazy about ice cream.
B. Because winter in Australia is not as cold as that in China.
C. Because it's summer in Australia when it's winter in China.
D. Because they don't have much to do in winter.

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The northern and southern parts of the Earth have different winter months.
B. Winter can be fun if you find interesting things to do.
C. The writer thinks it's great fun to clean your house and decorate it.
D. Australian kids enjoy having ice cream on winter days.

从短文中选出一种你喜欢的活动，并说明原因。 
     I think it will be great fun to 4. ____ this winter because I like to 5. ____. Also, it is 6.____ and it can
7.____. I'll try it out soon. 
Find words from the passage to fill in the blanks:
     In China, the winter months are usually November, December and 8.____. But it's different in Australia.
The winter in China is 9.____ in Australia because it is in the 10.____ part of the Earth.
     Winter is not always 11.___. You can have lots of fun. Try 12.____ a play and acting it out with your
cousins or friends. Or you can play 13.____ outside and make a 14.____. If you have to stay 15.____, clean
up your house and 16.____ it with fun pieces.
     Just enjoy winter!

     Chinese are very generous(慷慨) when it comes to educating their children . Not caring about the
money , parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England , the United
States or Australia . They also want their children to take extra-course activities where they will either
learn a musical instrument or ballet ,or other classes that will give them a head start in life . The Chinese
believe that the more expensive an education is , the better it is . So parents will spend an unreasonable
amount of money on education .Even poor families will buy a computer for their son or daughter .  
     However , what most parents fail to see is that the best early education they can give their children
is usually very cheap .  
     Parents can see that their children's skills vary (变化),skilled in some areas while poor in others.
What most parents fail to realize is that today's children lack (缺少) self-respect and self-confidence .  
     The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests
and how to study well , but parents are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be
confident ,happy and clever .  
     Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking , sewing and doing other housewk .  
     Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life . Cooking needs
patience and time . It is an enjoyable but difficult experience . A good cook always tries to improve his
cooking ,so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully .His result , a well-cooked
dinner , will give him much satisfaction (满意) and a lot of self-confidence .  
     Some old machines ,such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make
him curious (好奇的) and arouse (唤起) his interest . He will spend hours looking at them , trying to fix
them ; your child might become an engineer when he grows up . These activities are not only teaching a
child to read a book , but rather to think , to use his mind . And that is more important .

1.Parents in China ,according to this passage , _____.

A. are too strict with their children     
B. are too rich to educate their children     
C. have some problems in educating their children correctly     
D. are too poor to educate their children

2.Generally speaking ,children's skills _____.

A. come from their parents      
B. have nothing to do with their education
C. may be different            
D. have something to do with their marks in the exams

3. The writer of the passage does not seem to be satisfied with _____.

A. the parents' ideas of educating their children    
B. the education system
C. children's skills                            
D. children's hobbies

4. Doing some cooking at home helps children _____.

A. learn how to serve their parents
B. learn how to become strong and fat
C. improve many skills that they will need later in life
D. make their parents make that they are clever

5. According to the last paragraph we can conclude that _____.

A. broken radios and television sets are useful
B. one's curiosity may be useful for his later life
C. an engineer must fix many broken radios
D. a good student should spend much time repairing radios