Carnival

Carnival is the last big festival in summer in Brazil, which may begin 40 days before Easter every year. During the festival, to celebrate their traditions, Brazilians sing and dance in dance halls and clubs, on the streets and beaches or anywhere else in Brazil.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most popular traditional festivals celebrated in China, falling on the fifth of the fifth lunar month. The most famous and greatest tradition is holding Dragon Boat races. In addition, during the festival, people make and eat Zongzi. Hanging herbs ( 草药 ) on the front door is also popular, which is meant to protect people from evil ( 邪恶 ) and illness.

Solnal

Koreans celebrate Solnal, the lunar New Year, with other East Asian countries. Solnal is a time for Koreans to celebrate the traditions with their family. On New Year’s Day, people put on traditional clothes and put food on a special table for the dead members of their family. Family enjoy activities such as kite flying and dancing.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the US and it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. On the day, Americans say “Thank you” to their family, friends and people that help them. On Thanksgiving, people usually have a big turkey dinner and a special party with their family.

Choose the right answer according to the passage.

1 ． Where is Carnival celebrated?

A ． In China. B ． In Brazil. C ． In Korea. D ． In the US.

2 ． Why do people hang herbs on Dragon Boat Festival?

A ． To put family under protection. B ． To prepare a big dinner for family.

C ． To have a special party with family. D ． To offer food to dead family members.

3 ． What activity takes place on Korean New Year’s day?

A ． Boat races. B ． Kite flying.

C ． Turkey cooking. D ． Front door cleaning.

4 ． When is Thanksgiving celebrated?

A ． About 40 days before Easter. B ． On the last day of lunar year.

C ． On the fifth of the fifth lunar month. D ． On the fourth Thursday of November.

5 ． What do Carnival and Solnal have in common?

A ． They are celebrated on the same day.

B ． They are both celebrated in East Asian countries.

C ． People wear the same clothes during the two festivals.

D ． People dance to celebrate their traditions during the two festivals.

Leo was a small and thin boy living in a small village. Some boys in the village often bullied him and Leo was afraid.

One day, an old wizard ( 魔法师 ) went by the village and saw Leo being bullied. So when the bad boys left, he gave Leo a lion’s tail. “It’s a magic tail.” the wizard said, “When someone wears it and acts bravely, he or she will turn into a strong lion.” Leo hung the lion’s tail behind his body and decided to teach the bad boys a lesson.

But when the boys came, Leo was afraid and tried to run away. Yet they caught him. Suddenly, Leo showed the tail and remembered what the wizard had said. He became brave. He looked them in the eyes and said he would make them regret doing that. Leo felt the goose bumps ( 鸡皮疙瘩 ) all over his body, “This means that I am turning into a lion.” he thought. The boys ran away in fear. Leo wanted to catch them, but he found his legs were as short as before.

When the wizard saw it, he came to Leo. Leo was very happy, though a little disappointed because his lion body had lasted only a short time.

“You are great.” said the wizard, “But have you ever seen a lion fighting? No one fights with lions because they know how brave and strong lions are.” Yes. Leo had never seen a lion fighting. He suddenly understood that he didn’t really turn into a lion and that what really worked was his brave heart.

Choose the right answer according to the passage.

1 ． What’s probably the meaning of the underlined word “bullied” in paragraph one?

A ． hurt B ． missed C ． changed D ． encouraged

2 ． What can we learn about Leo from the passage?

A ． He was a small and fat boy. B ． He got a tail from a wizard.

C ． He got on well with everyone. D ． He was made fun of because of his tail.

3 ． Which of the following is right?

A ． Leo caught the bad boys after he became a lion.

B ． The wizard fought with Leo against the bad boys.

C ． The tail made Leo brave to fight against the bad boys.

D ． The bad boys had courage to fight against a real lion.

4 ． How did Leo feel after the bad boys ran away?

A ． Tired but happy. B ． Worried but surprised.

C ． Sad but relaxed. D ． Disappointed but pleased.

5 ． What’s the best tile of the passage?

A ． An old wizard B ． A small boy C ． A magic tail D ． A strong lion

It’s 2050. The Earth is dying, and moving to Mars seems to be the only way out for humans. A team of American astronauts ( 宇航员 ) begin to search on Mars. This is what the movie Red Planet begins with. Known as the Red Planet, Mars is the favourite of writers and filmmakers.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the next planet beyond the Earth. Mars is the only planet whose surface can be seen from the Earth. It is about half size of our planet.

The surface of Mars is more like the Earth than any other planet. But it is further from the Sun than the Earth, so temperatures on Mars are much lower. Plants and animals can not live now on Mars. But many scientists still believe that such life may have been on Mars long ago.

On 6th August, 1996, scientists discovered a piece of rock from Mars, which fell to the Earth 13, 000 years ago. 10 years later, some scientists still didn’t accept that there was life on Mars. People may not be sure about life on Mars until a sample ( 样本 ) of life is brought back. Some further researches are being done in many countries. If you want to know more, please click www.spaceexploration.com.

Choose the right answer according to the passage.

1 ． Why is the movie Red Planet mentioned?

A ． To introduce the topic. B ． To advise readers to go to Mars.

C ． To compare Mars with the Earth. D ． To tell stories about American astronauts.

2 ． What do we know about Mars?

A ． Mars is as big as the Earth in size.

B ． Mars is the fourth planet from the Earth.

C ． The surface of Mars is similar to that of the Earth.

D ． Mars is one of the planets whose surfaces can be seen from the Earth.

3 ． No life exists on Mars because ________ .

A ． it is too soft B ． it is too far C ． it is too small D ． it is loo cold

4 ． What did scientists find from Mars in 1996?

A ． Some plants B ． Some animals C ． A piece of rock D ． Some water

5 ． The passage is most probably taken from ________ .

A ． a notice B ． a website C ． a diary D ． a tour guide

Li Tao, a Junior 1 student, was quite busy over the past winter vacation but not just with homework. Li, together with his 10 classmates made a volunteer group to call on people to join in The “Clean Your Plate Campaign” ( 光盘行动 ) .

The 11 students went to many restaurants and told people the importance of saving food. “Excuse me, do you know that 950 million people around the world still haven’t got enough to eat? Please don’t waste food.” They would say that hundreds of times every day.

China in these years has serious problems with wasted food. CCTV reports that the food Chinese people waste every year is enough to feed 200 million people fora year.

Chinese people are well - known for being generous ( 慷慨的 ). Many even feel that they lose face if their guests have eaten all the food.

To reduce food waste is a big task, and it needs time. It’s important that everyone should do their bit, just like Li. Did you finish your meals today?

Judge the following statements True(T) or False(F).

1 ． Li Tao was only busy with his homework over the past winter vacation.

2 ． The 11 students went to the same restaurant and said the same words many times.

3 ． The problems with wasted food in China are serious.

4 ． Many Chinese people feel proud if their guests have eaten all the food.

5 ． Everyone should save food to reduce food waste.

A Pioneer for all People

Though he was one of China's most famous scientists, Yuan Longping considered himself a farmer, because he worked the land to do his research.

Known as “Father of Hybrid Rice ( 杂交水稻 )”, Dr Yuan graduated from Southwest Agricultural ( 农业的 ) College in 1953. From then on, finding ways to grow more rice was his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for increasing the rice production. At that time, hunger was a serious problem in many parts of the countryside. Dr Yuan searched for a way to get more rice with the same size of the fields. In 1974, he became an agricultural pioneer in the world to grow rice that has high production and that is called super hybrid rice. In the 1980s, he went around the world and gave advice about growing rice to farmers in other countries. In 2004, he won the World Food Prize for his work.

Dr Yuan was quite satisfied with his life. He would much rather keep time for his hobbies. He enjoyed playing the violin, swimming and reading. Spending money on himself meant very little to him, so he gave millions of yuan to help some researchers with their research in farming.

Long ago Dr Yuan had a dream about rice plants as tall as sorghum ( 高粱 ) . With his hard work, he grew the rice that could feed more people. President Xi Jinping praised him for his great contributions ( 贡献 ) to China's food safety and world corn development.

Answer the questions according to the passage. ( 必须使用完整语句作答 )

1 ． Why did Dr Yuan consider himself a farmer?

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2 ． What is Dr Yuan known as?

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3 ． When did Dr Yuan win the World Food Prize?

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4 ． How did Dr Yuan help other researchers?

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5 ． What did Dr Yuan make contributions to according to President Xi Jinping?

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