John is a famous writer now. Bob said he was not a good student ___41_____ he was young. He was often late for____42___ and didn’t like doing his homework. Sometimes, he ______43____ in class while the teacher was teaching. He didn’t understand much, ____44____but he always thought he understood everything. One day the teacher _____45___ the students a question, “When Jack was ten years old, _____46____ brother Ben was twenty. Jack is fifteen now and _____47___ is his brother Ben? John said, “That’s easy. Ben is twice as old as Jack, so he is thirty now.”

Another time, the ____48_____ in a science class asked, “When it thunders(打雷), _______49___ do we always see the light before we hear the sound?”

“But, Miss,” said John quickly, “don’t you ___50_____ our eyes are in front of our ears?”

On a cold morning at a bus station, a man played six famous pieces of music for about an hour. During that time, about two thousand people went through the station, most of them were on their way to work.
3 minutes later: a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed down, stopped for a few seconds and went away.
4 minutes later: the musician received his first dollar. A woman threw the money in the box and kept on walking without stopping.
6 minutes later: a young man stopped to listen to him. Then he looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes later: a 3-year-old boy stopped to look at the musician, but his mother took him away. Several other children did the same as the boy. And nearly all the parents took their children away.
45 minutes later: the musician kept on playing. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 persons gave him money but left quickly.
After 1 hour, the musician finished playing. In the end, he collected $ 32. No one noticed that he had finished playing.
No one knew this, but the musician was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. At that time, he played one of the most wonderful pieces ever written, with a very expensive violin.
If we do not have time to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing with the most beautiful violin, how many other things are we missing?
【小题1】Joshua Bell played six famous pieces of music for ________ at a bus station.

The English often go out with an umbrella or a raincoat. Why？ 36   the weather In Britain often changes quickly.

   Spring can be rainy or windy, but the weather is  37   warmer and you can hope more sunny days. In fact , there  38   as much sunshine in spring as in summer. Summer is the  39   time for visitors to go to the seaside. People often go out to have a walk or swim. Autumn is a beautiful season. During autumn it is still nice to be outside ,too. In winter, it gets colder, and it might  40   ,especially in the north. There are  41   very heavy winds in this season.

   February is usually the coldest   42  of the year , while the warmest  43  often July.

   The difference   44    temperature between winter and summer is not so great in Britain. The average temperature for winter is about 4.5℃,and for   45  is about 15.5℃.

1.A. Because     B. As           C. Since

2.A. get          B. getting       C. gets

3.A. can have     B. can          C. can be

4.A. worst        B. best         C. earliest

5.A. snow        B. rain         C. wind

6.A. also         B. either        C. too

7.A. month       B. season       C. weather 

8.A. is           B. was         C. are

9.A. in           B. on          C. for

10.A. spring       B. autumn       C. summer

A recent survey of 2000 parents in Britain showed that they are often afraid of science questions asked by their curious children only because they have no idea what the answer is. Here is a list of some simple questions that you can ask your parents to see if they know the answers.

    Q: Why is the sky blue?

    A: You probably know white sunlight is made up of seven colors. While it moves in a straight line when going through space, it starts to divide as it hits “raised area” in the atmosphere. The ones with longest wavelengths pass through easily. The blue , however , can be taken in by the gas molecules (分子) because it has a shorter wavelength , which in turn scatters (使分散) it in different directions. That’s why when you look up at the sky, it appears to be blue.

    Q:Why does the moon sometimes appear during the daytime?

    A: The simple answer to that is because just like any other object it is being lit by the sun. As long as it is around 45 degrees or even 90 degrees off the sun, it will receive light and be able to be seen. The only time it is not able to be seen during its 28-day orbit (轨道) around the earth is when it is right between the earth and the sun. That’s because its back , which is not lit by the sun, is facing us.

    Q: Where do birds/ honeybees go in winter?

    A: While the bird part is quite easy, since a lot of them get together and travel, the honeybee part is likely to puzzle your parents. It turns out that these busy insects stop being that active when the temperature drops below 50°F. Instead ,they get together in the lower central area of the hive （蜂巢）and form a ball around their queen. This helps keep both warm enough to survive the cold winter months.

1.The sky looks blue mainly because the color blue in the sunlight_______.

A. has the longest wavelength among all the colors

B. cannot be taken in by the gas molecules

C. doesn’t hit “raised area” in the atmosphere

D. cannot pass through space successfully

2.How long can’t the moon be seen during the daytime in a month?

A. 2                             B. 28                           C.30                                      D. 31

3.What do honeybees choose to do when the temperature drops below 50°F?

A. They choose to be active in the wild.

B. They choose to keep themselves warm.

C. They choose to travel to a warm place.

D. They choose to get together in the upper central area of the hive.

4.What is NOT explained in the passage?

A. Why is the sky blue?

B. Why is the moon able to be seen during the daytime?

C. Why do birds travel in winter?

D. Where do honeybees go in winter?