Almost all people like flowers. Some people like flowers because of their smells, shapes, colors and so on. Others like flowers because they think different flowers mean different things. Flowers have their own language. For example, red roses mean “love” and sunflowers mean “loyalty(忠诚)”. So people in more than 100 countries have chosen their own national flowers which say something about their countries’ spirit. In 1994, China talked about choosing a national flower. Some people liked the peony(牡丹) but others liked the plum blossom(梅花). They couldn’t agree with each other. So it has not been decided yet.
People like to buy different flowers in different seasons. Where do all the beautiful flowers in shops come from? They may come from far away, so their price is higher.
a. Farmers grow flowers in their fields.
b. Planes or trains or buses take the flowers to different places.
c. Flower shopkeepers buy flowers from the flower markets. They look after the flowers and throw away the broken or bad ones. They cut the flowers to make them more beautiful.
d. You go to buy the flowers in the shops. When you buy a flower, you’re paying lots of people: the farmer, the driver of the plane or train or bus, the seller in the flower market and the flower shopkeeper.
So you’d better keep your flowers from far away for a long time. But how? Why not dry them? It’s easy! Sand drying is a way. Dry, clean sand is one of the oldest things for drying flowers. And it’s one of the cheapest.
·Fill a box half-way with sand.
·Put the flowers on top of the sand.
·Put the box in a warm, dry place.
·Leave the flowers there for one to three weeks.
·Take them out and they will be dry.
【小题1】The underlined words “national flowers” most probably means ______.

An old woman went out shopping last Tuesday. She came to a bank and saw a car near the door. A young man with dark glasses got out of it and went into the bank. She looked into the car and found some keys in it.
The man took a gun(枪)out of his pocket and said to the man in the bank, “Give me all the money.” But the woman didn’t see this. She went to the young man and put the keys in his hand, “My boy,” she said, “Don’t leave your keys in your car! Someone is going to steal(偷) it.”
The young man looked at the old woman for a few minutes. Then he took his keys, ran out of the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly without taking any money.
【小题1】The old woman went out to _____.

Man began to make use of fire long long ago. Fire is useful in many ways, but sometimes it is dangerous. If you are not (1)        with it, it can burn things or (2)       hurt you. A big fire can (3)        forests and tall buildings. Sometimes a piece of (4)        paper can cause a big fire. So please remember (5) ______      in the dry places like woods and forests (6)        throw a cigarette end on the grass and it’s also important for you to put the candles in the 7)       place. When you use candles at home ,you should (8)        your long hair away from the fire.
But if there is a (9)        in our building, what should we do with it? Pour some water (10)       your clothes. What’s more, put a (11)        towel (毛巾) over your mouth and your nose to keep the (12)______                out. You’d better run away from the fire as (13)        as you can. But you mustn’t rush! Or you may fall over and hurt yourself or others. Of course you should also call 119. On the phone you should clearly tell the firemen (14)      the fire is to help them get there without difficulty. By the way, Do not (15)        out of the window. Jumping may be more dangerous than the fire.
Keep ourselves away from fire and safety is above all!