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 either have it, or you don’t－a sense of direction. But why is it that some people could find their way across the Sahara without a map while others can lose themselves in the next street?

Scientists say we’re all born with a sense of direction, but it is not properly understood how it works. One theory is that people with a good sense of direction have simply worked harder at developing it. Research being carried out at Liverpool University supports this idea and suggests that if we don’t use it, we lose it.

“Children as young as seven have the ability to find their way around,” says Jim Martland, research director of the project. “However, if they are not allowed out alone or are taken everywhere by car, they never develop the skills.”

Jim Martland also emphasizes that young people should be taught certain skills to improve their sense of direction. He makes the following suggestions:

If you are using a map, turn it so that it relates to(与……有联系) the way you are facing.

If you leave your bike in a strange place, put it near something like a big stone or a tree－something easy to recognize. Note landmarks on the route as you go away from your bike. When you return, go back along the same route.

Simplify(简化) the way for finding your direction by using lines such as streets in a town, streams, or wells in the countryside to guide you. Count your steps so that you know how far you have gone and note any landmarks such as towerblocks or hills which can help to find out where you are.

Now you will never get lost again!

1.Children have the ability to find the way around when they are ______ years old.

A．5                B．6                C．7                D．8

2.Which of the following things cannot be used as landmarks?

A．Tower blocks.      B．Hills.             C．Wells.            D．Bikes.

3.What does the underlined word “emphasize” mean in the passage?

A．To give special importance to something.

B．To express thanks for somebody.

C．To understand or become aware of a fact.

D．To admire somebody.

4.Scientists believe that __________.

A．some babies are born with a sense of direction

B．people learn a sense of direction as they grow older

C．people never lose their sense of direction

D．everybody has a sense of direction from birth

5.What may be the best title of the passage?

A．A research on direction.

B．A sense of direction.

C．People’s ability of finding the way.

D．Scientists’ research on skills.

Brownie and Spotty were neighbor dogs. They loved each other and played together so often that they had worn a path through the grass of the field between their houses.

One evening, Brownie’s family noticed that their dog hadn’t returned home. They went looking for him, but with no success. Brownie didn’t show up the next day, and by the next week he was still missing.

Curiously, Spotty showed up at Brownie’s house alone. He barked loudly. But busy with their own lives, Brownie’s family just ignored (忽略) their neighbor’s nervous little dog.

Finally, one morning Spotty refused to take “no” for an answer. He followed Ted, Brownie’s owner, everywhere he went. He barked, then rushed towards a nearby empty lot and back, as if to say, “ Follow me!”

Finally, Ted followed the dog across the empty lot. The dog led the man to a tree a half-mile from the house. There Ted found Brownie alive. One of his legs was crushed (夹住) in a trap. Ted wished he had taken Spotty’s earlier appeals (求助) seriously.

Then Ted noticed something amazing. In a circle around the injured dog, he saw a lot of dog food. They were the remains of lots of meals.

Spotty had been visiting Brownie every day. He had stayed with Brownie to protect him, snuggling(依偎) with him at night to keep him warm and nuzzling(用鼻子爱抚) him to keep his spirits up.

1.What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?

A. Brownie and Spotty didn’t like their owners.

B. Brownie was missing for three days.

C. Brownie’s family didn’t love him.

D. Spotty probably knew where Brownie was.

2.According to the story, which of the following is TRUE?

  A. Spotty barked loudly at Ted because he was scared.

  B. Ted followed Spotty because Spotty asked him to.

  C. Spotty succeeded in escaping from the trap.

  D. Brownie had nothing to eat that whole week.

3.The underlined phrase “keep his spirits up” in the last paragraph probably means______.

  A. feed him      B. praise him       C. comfort him       D. protect him

4.What does the story aim to tell us?

  A. Dog is man’s best friend.             

B. Even dogs can have strong friendship.

  C. Dogs are one of the cleverest animals.   

D. Dogs have a special way to look for help.

根据上下文理解，选择所给词的适当形式填空。

Yesterday was Sunday. We had no  1  . I wrote a letter to my pen pal and   2 lunch for my parents. After lunch I took a   3  with Mike through the park behind my house. We saw a little girl      4   for something. She lost her keys. “She   5  help,” Mike said. So we helped the girl look for her   6 . About ten   7  later, Mike found them in the grass. The girl was   8 . We spent much time in looking for the   9  keys, but we   10  very happy because we did a good deed（做好事）.