It began with one red paper clip(回形针)and ended with a house. Kyle MacDonald, a 26-year-old Canadian got a house with three bedrooms through 14 trades(交易)that started with a single red paper clip.
Now more and more young people around the world like this kind of trading activities. They set up websites and trade on the Internet. People trade things they do not usually use with other people. A website called Peerflix allows people to trade their old possessions. These traders usually prefer face-to-face trading, in this way they don’t have to worry about who is going to pay for the delivery(递送).
Last year, a young girl in Beijing decided to follow the example of Kyle. She started with a paper clip and hoped to get a house in the end．After several trades she now has a piano which is worth more than 10, 000 yuan. But she may still have a long way to go.
Maybe you can’t understand why people are doing this. As Kyle said, “What’s more important to a man in the desert—one million dollars or a glass of water?” Kyle’s words probably show why these trades are popular among young people.Do young people like the trading activities?
Where can people trade things they do not usually use?
Why do these traders usually prefer face-to-face trading?
What did the Chinese girl hope to get at the end of the trade?
Why are the trade activities popular among young people?
| The 4 Smallest Countries In The World |
 Nauru – 21 km² Located east of Australia， Nauru is the smallest island country in the world. It is also a country with the most overweight people in the world， with 97% of its men and 93% of women being overweight. |
 Tuvalu – 26 km² Located in the Pacific Ocean， west of Australia. There are about 10，000 people， with 8 km of roads， and only 1 hospital on the main island. Since it’s a difficult place to get to， in 2010， only about 2，000 visitors came to Tuvalu. |
 Vatican – 0.44 km² The world’s smallest country is the Vatican， also known as the Holy See. This country fits within the Italian capital city of Rome. It is also home to the biggest church in the world – St. Peter’s Basilica， and holds some of the most important art works. |
 Monaco – 2 km² Located on the French Riviera， Monaco is home to the largest number of rich people per capital in the world. With a population of over 36，000， Monaco is the world’s most densely (密集地) populated country. People there are mostly French-speaking. The most popular event is the Formula 1 race， held there every year. |
Which is the smallest island country?
| A．Nauru. | B．Tuvalu. | C．Vatican. | D．Monaco. |
What’s the area of Vatican?
| A．21 km². | B．26 km². | C．0.44 km². | D．2 km². |
Which of the following about Monaco is TRUE?
| A．It’s the world’s smallest country. |
| B．It’s the most difficult place to get to. |
| C．It has the most overweight people in the world. |
| D．It’s the world’s most densely populated country. |
Mr. Dawson was an old man with a bad temper(脾气). And everyone in town knew it. Kids were afraid to go into his yard to pick apples.
One Friday, 12-year-old Janet and her friend Amy had to walk past Mr. Dawson’s house. When Janet saw him, she suggested crossing the street to the other side. But Amy said they needn’t.
When Mr. Dawson saw Amy, he smiled and said, “Hello, Amy! I see you have a new friend with you today.” Amy smiled back and told him that Janet would stay with her that night. Mr. Dawson looked friendly and gave them each a fresh apple. The girls were glad to get them.
Later Janet asked Amy, “Everyone says he is the most unwelcome person in town. Why was he so kind to us?” Amy explained that when she first walked past his house, she was also afraid of him. But she pretended(假装) there was an invisible (看不见的) smile on his face and so she always smiled back at him. It took a long time, but one day he half-smiled back at her, and then started talking to her.
“An invisible smile?” Janet was puzzled. “Yes,” answered Amy, “My grandma told me to think so. She says smiles can run around. If we keep smiling at someone, sooner or later he will really smile back.”
Remember what Amy’s grandma said, and we will find that most people can’t refuse our smile. What did people feel about Mr. Dawson? （不超过10个词）
Who did Amy learn “an invisible smile” from? （不超过10个词）
What does the writer want to tell us? （不超过20个词）
Do you love holidays but hate the increase of weight that follows? You are not alone. Holidays are happy days with pleasure and delicious foods. Many people, however, are worried about the weight that comes along with these delicious foods.
With proper planning, though, it is possible to control your weight. The idea is to enjoy the holidays but not to eat too much. You don’t have to turn away from the foods that you enjoy. The following suggestions may be of some help to you.
● Do not miss meals. Before you leave home for a big dinner, have small, low fat foods. This may help to keep you from getting too excited before delicious foods.
● Begin with clear soup and fruit or vegetables. A large glass of water before you eat may help you feel full. Use a small plate(盘子); a large plate will encourage you to have more than enough.
● Better not have high fat foods. Dishes that look oily have much fat in them.
● Fill your plate with salad and green vegetables.
● If you have a sweet tooth, try some fruits. They don’t have as much fat as cream(奶油）and chocolate.
● Don’t let exercise take a break during the holidays. A 20 minutes’ walk after a meal can help burn off calories (卡路里).The writer gives us suggestions about controlling weight during holidays.
| A．four | B．five | C．six | D．seven |
Before we leave for a big dinner, we should eat some ________.
| A．high fat foods | B．cream and chocolate |
| C．oily dishes | D．small and low fat foods |
Which of the following is a good way to stop us putting on weight during holidays?
| A．Don’t take exercise and have a rest. |
| B．Just have clear soup and fruit or vegetables. |
| C．Drink a large glass of water before eating. |
| D．Use a big plate and fill it with beef and chicken. |
From the passage we know that holidays may bring us pleasure and .
| A．bring weight problems |
| B．make us hate delicious food |
| C．force us to eat less fruit |
| D．encourage us to have more food |
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. He was famous because of the books he wrote for children. They have funny words, pictures, and social opinion（观点）. Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children in 1937. It is called And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Soon other successful books followed. Over the years, he wrote more than forty children’s books. They were fun to read. Yet his books sometimes dealt with serious subjects.
By the middle 1940s, Dr Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful writers of children’s books. He had a strong desire to help children. In 1954, Life magazine gave a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books weren’t interesting. Dr Seuss decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read.
In 1957, Dr Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 225 words to write the book. This was about the number of words a six-year-old should be able to read. The story was about a cat who tried to play with two children on a rainy day while their mother was away from home. The cat was very special and it could talk. The book was a great success. It was an interesting story and was easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today many adults(成年人) say it is still one of the stories they like best.Theodor Seuss Geisel was famous for .
| A．his funny words and pictures |
| B．his social opinion |
| C．his ideas on serious subjects |
| D．his books written for children |
The underlined word desire in the passage probably means “ .”
| A．问题 | B．愿望 | C．感激 | D．标准 |
According to the passage we know that .
| A．Dr Seuss wrote his first book for children at the age of 33 |
| B．Dr Seuss wrote less than forty children’s books over the years |
| C．Life magazine gave a report about adults who could not read in 1954 |
| D．And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was loved by children and parents |
Why do many adults like reading The Cat in the Hat today?
| A．Because Dr Seuss used 225 words to write the book. |
| B．Because it was about a cat trying to play with two children. |
| C．Because it was an interesting story and was easy to read. |
| D．Because the cat was very special and it could talk with children. |
Every people(民族) uses its own special words to show its ideas and feelings. Some of these expressions are commonly used for many years. Others are popular for just a short time. One such American expression is “Where’s the beef?” It is used when something is not as good as it is said to be. In the early 1980s “Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in the United States. It seemed as if everyone was using it at the time.
Beef, of course, is the meat from a cow, and food is more popular in America than a hamburger made from beef. In the 1960s a businessman named Ray began building small restaurants that sold hamburgers at a low price. Ray called this “McDonald’s”. Ray became one of the richest businessmen at last in America.
Other business people watched his success. Some of them opened their own hamburger restaurants. One company(公司) called “Wendy’s” said its hamburgers were bigger than those sold by McDonald’s or anyone else. The Wendy’s Company began to use the expression “Where’s the beef?” to make people know that Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. The Wendy’s television advertisement(广告) showed three old women eating hamburgers. The bread that covered the meat was very big, but inside there was only a bit of meat. One of the women said she would not eat a hamburger with such a little piece of beef. “Where’s the beef?” she shouted in a funny way. The advertisement for Wendy’s hamburger restaurants was a success. As we said, it seemed everyone began using the expression “Where’s the beef?”The expression “Where’s the beef?” is used when .
| A．someone can’t find the beef at all |
| B．someone isn’t satisfied with the beef |
| C．something is better than it is said to be |
| D．something is not as good as it is said to be |
“Where’s the beef?” was one of the most popular expressions in ________ in the early 1980s.
| A．Britain | B．America |
| C．India | D．Australia |
The Wendy’s Company used the expression “Where’s the beef?” in order to .
| A．show Wendy’s hamburgers were the biggest. |
| B．make people know where they could find the beef |
| C．let people notice the bread that covered the meat was big |
| D．compare its hamburgers with those sold by McDonald’s |
This passage mainly tells us .
| A．two famous companies |
| B．a rich businessman |
| C．a popular expression |
| D．a television advertisement |
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