Everyone has his own birthday. People in different countries celebrate their birthdays in different ways. Now here are four people from different countries. They will tell us how they celebrate their birthdays in their countries.
Sandy comes from Madrid(马德里) . She says happily, “My 21st birthday is on Saturday, and I’m going to go out with some friends. To wish me a happy birthday, they are going to pull on my ear 21 times, once for each year. It’s an old custom. Some people pull on the ear just once, but my friends are very traditional.”
Mr. and Mrs. Sato are from Tokyo. Mr. Sato is going to be 60 tomorrow. In Japan, the sixtieth birthday is called Kanreki(花甲)—it’s the beginning of a new life. The color red is for a new life, so we always give something red for a sixtieth birthday.
Liu Mei from Beijing feels very excited and tells us, “Tomorrow is my 16th birthday. It’s a special birthday, so we’re going to have a family party. Maybe I will get some lucky money from my relatives(亲戚). My mother is going to cook noodles for a long life.”
Phillip, from Paris, smiles to us, “I’m going to be thirty next week, so I’m going to invite three very good friends out for dinner. In France, when you have a birthday, you often invite people out.”
How do you usually celebrate your birthday?Sandy’s friends will pull on her ear ____ on her birthday.
| A．once | B．twice | C．21 times | D．we don’t know |
Kanreki is on everyone’s ____ in Japan.
| A．16th birthday | B．14th birthday |
| C．30th birthday | D．60th birthday |
Perhaps Mr. Sato will receive ____ on his 60th birthday.
| A．some red flowers |
| B．some lucky money |
| C．a white shirt |
| D．a pair of black leather shoes |
Liu Mei will eat ____ for a long life on her birthday.
| A．rice | B．noodles | C．dumplings | D．birthday cakes |
Phillip will celebrate his thirtieth birthday by ____.
| A．eating out for dinner with his friends |
| B．pulling on the ear of his friends |
| C．cooking noodles |
| D．receiving some lucky money |
A lot of families in Britain grow vegetables． A few people grow unusual or strange vegetables． But a great many people grow tomatoes． My neighbor grows the biggest， sweetest， happiest tomatoes in the world． "How do you do it？" I ask． "Why can't I grow tomatoes like yours？"
"I talk to them，" my neighbor says． "I've been talking to my tomatoes for years．" Up to now， I have always laughed at this．
This summer， some scientists carried out an interesting experiment， and I have just read their report．
Three sets of tomato plants were grown． Nobody talked to the first set， but every day for a month， a recording of a man's voice was played to the second set， and a recording of a woman's voice was played to the third set． At the end of the month， the second set of plants had grown four centimeters taller than the first， and the third set of plants had grown five centimeters taller than the second． The plants liked the woman's voice best．
"We can't explain it，" a scientist said， "But sound waves surely help the tomatoes to grow． Plant growers have always paid attention to light and water． Now we advise you to think of sound waves in the same way．"
31． The writer's neighbor grows better tomatoes because he ．
A． stays with them
B． laughs at them
C． talks to them
D． thinks of them
32． Through the experiment， the scientists proved that helps tomatoes to grow best．
A． a man's voice
B． a woman's voice
C． the sound of nature
D． the sound of animals
33． By the underlined sentence the scientist means ．
A． plants don't grow without sound waves
B． scientists have found the secret of sound waves
C． sound waves are more important than light and water
D． plant growers should also play attention to sound waves
THREE CENTURIES OF HOAXES（骗局；恶作剧）！
A THINKING MACHINE
In 1769，long before computers were invented，a man from Hungary（匈牙利） built a wonderful machine that could play chess very well．It delighted（使高兴） people all over Europe and beat nearly everyone it played，including famous figures like French leader Napoleon Bonaparte，and scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin．For decades，many people believed that it was truly a thinking machine．
There were people who said it was a hoax，but could not prove it or explain how it worked．About 85 years later，the secret was finally revealed．There was a man hiding inside the machine all the time…who was obviously very good at playing chess!
200 ESCAPE（逃脱）
On November 9，1874，New York newspaper，The Herald，ran a shocking story on its front page．It said that all the animals in the Central Park Zoo had escaped and were running around the city．It said the police were working to save people，but 27 people had already been killed，and 200 people hut．It wanted everyone to stay at home to avoid danger．Many people in New York were terrified，and did as the paper said．If only they had read the final words of the article，which said："Not one word of it is true Not a single act described has taken place．"It was all just a hoax．The story was made up by Thomas Connery，an editor at The Herald，who wanted to draw attention to the poor condition of cages in the zoo．
ROSIE THE RUNNER
The first woman to cross the finish line of the 1980 Boston Marathon（马拉松） was 23﹣year﹣old Rosie Ruiz．However，as she climbed the stairs to receive her prize，people started to become suspicious（怀疑的）．She didn't seem to be tired at all．Furthermore，none of the other runners remembered seeing her，and her picture never appeared in photos or TV broadcasts of the race．Later，several people said that they had seen her join the race only at the end．It turned out she had run only half a mile（about 805 meters）and taken the train for the rest of the race! Her prize was taken away，of course．
42．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 1 refers to（指）
A．the hoax．
B．the news．
C．the thinking machine．
D．the computer．
43．Which of the following is mentioned in the passage？
A．The thinking machine used a computer to win games．
B.200 people were killed by zoo animals in l874．
C．Rosie Ruiz wasn't tired at the finish line．
D．Rosie Ruiz didn't appear in TV broadcasts of the race．
44．What is true about all the writer in the passage？
A．They made people scared．
B．They fooled a lot of people．
C．They made people suspicious．
D．They delighted people．
45．The title of the passage shows us that the writer thinks that hoaxes
A．are not new．
B．are easily avoided．
C．are always cruel．
D．are usually unbelievable．
I want to rant a little about cell phones．Here are a few things I hate about them．
I hate it when people tum cell phones on in the movies to check their messages．When someone turns a cell phone on in the movies，I want to turn on a flashlight and point it at their faces．
I hate it when people talk loudly on cell phones in libraries，in quick bookstores，on buses or on trains．Do these people really think we want to hear their conversation？It's not very interesting，to be honest．They're usually talking about what they ate for breakfast，and we can't hear the other end of the conversation（although I'm pretty sure the other side of the conversation is just as boring）．
I hate it when people answer their phone calls while I'm talking to them，and then，in front of me，continue a long conversation．I also hate it when people text while I'm siting at dinner with them．This is probably the worst thing people do on cell phones．This sends the message to the person you're eating with that "You are not interesting or important enough．I'd rather text my other friend．Obviously，I like this other friend much better than I like you．"
I saw a girl yesterday standing in front of the Pacific Ocean．The sun was setting．The sky was pink，orange，and blue．The waves were rolling onto the beach．She was looking down at her little pink cell phone，testing something．She did not look up once．I really wanted to tell her，"A"
38．People usually rant about things that make them
A．angry
B．embarrassed
C．sad
D．disappointed
39．The writer believes the worst thing that people do with cell phones is teat someone
A．while reading in a library
B．while walking at the beach
C．while watching movies in the theater
D．while eating dinner with someone else
40．The writer probably
A．hates people who have cell phones
B．talks loudly on her cell phone on buses
C．tries to use her cell phone politely
D．calls someone often at breakfast
41．What would the writer probably say at the end of the passage？
A．Put away your cell phone and go to enjoy the latest movies!
B．Turn off your cell phone and talk to your friends face to face!
C．leave your cell phone in the bag and go home for dinner with your family!
D．Throw your cell phone in the ocean and enjoy the wonderful worried in front of you!
Do you know any 9﹣year﹣olds who have started their own museums？When Theodore Roosevelt（罗斯福） was only nine，he and two of his cousins opened the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History．"The museum was in Theodore's bedroom．It had a total of 12 specimens（标本）．On display were a few seashells，some dead insects and some birds' nests．Young Roosevelt took great pride in his small museum．
Born in New York in 1858，Theodore Roosevelt was not always healthy．"I was a sickly，delicate boy．"he once wrote．Roosevelt had a health condition called asthma（哮喘）．He often found it hard to breathe．Instead of playing，he observed（观察） nature and then read and wrote about it．
Roosevelt's interest in nature sometimes got him into trouble．Once，his mother found several dead mice in the icebox．She ordered him to throw them out．This was indeed "a loss to science，"Roosevelt said later．
Because Roosevelt was often sickly as a boy，his body was small and weak．When he was about 12，his father urged him to improve his body．Roosevelt began working out in a gym．He didn't become strong quickly．But he did decide to face life's challenges with a strong spirit．That determination stayed with Roosevelt his whole life．And finally his body did get strong．As an adult，he was an active，healthy person．He enjoyed adventures and loved the outdoors．
In 1900，at the age of 41，Roosevelt was elected Vice President．A year later．President McKinley，was shot and killed．Roosevelt became the 26th President of the USA．At 42，he was the youngest leader the country had ever had．
34．What is the main idea of the first paragraph？
A．Roosevelt's museum had 12 specimens．
B．Roosevelt had two cousins．
C．Roosevelt was a brave man．
D．Roosevelt had a small museum as a by．
35．Which of the following tells about Roosevelt as a boy？
A．He liked playing outdoor sports．
B．He became the president in 1901．
C．He was interested in observing nature．
D．He was a healthy person full of energy．
36．It can be inferred（推断）that
A．Roosevelt's mother liked mice
B．Roosevelt followed his father's advice
C．everyone with asthma is small and weak
D．working out in a gym is a waste of time
37．In which book might you find this passage？
A．Improving Your Body
B．Living With Asthma
C．Small Museums of Natural History
D．The Childhoods of America's Presidents．
Don't Worry! Be Happy!
If I were a bird．I'd fly up high，
Above the clouds，up in the sky．
I'd float and sing and soar and play，
Without any worries to ruin my day．
If I were a dolphin，I'd splash in the sea，
And dive and flip﹣great fun for me!
I'd play with friends under the sea so blue．
There'd be no chores or homework to do．
If I were a bear，I'd sleep all day，
And then wake up at night to play．
I'd fish and run and jump and climb，
With no one around to ruin my good time．
If I were a dog，daring the day I'd rest．
So when Master came home，I'd be at my best﹣
Ready to run or play balls or catch，
Ready to jump，roll over or fetch．
But I'm not a dog or a bird or a bear，
I'm not dolphin who can swim everywhere．
I'm just a kid who wants to have fun，
But I know I can't till my work's all
Word bank：
float v．漂浮 soar v．高飞
ruin v．毁灭 splash v．飞溅
31．The poem is probably written by a（an）
A．student
B．teacher
C．actor
D．zoo keeper
32．The author is trying to tell us he wants to
A．fly or swim all day
B．be free like animals
C．be a dog
D．fish and run in the forests
33．The best word for the blank in the poem is
A．checked
B．gone
C．done
D．finished．
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