Earthquakes (地震) are one of the most violent and terrible kinds of natural disasters (災難). We cannot
prevent them, and we don't know when they will happen. This makes earthquakes very dangerous. Recently,
there have been big earthquakes in China, Japan, India, and El Salvador.
     What causes earthquakes? Well, all the countries and oceans of the earth are sitting on large plates (板塊)
around the earth. These plates fit together like a big puzzle (拼圖), and they move around. Earthquakes happen
when two plates move against each other. The earth moves up and down, like an ocean wave.
     We don't know when earthquakes will happen, but we can do some things to keep safe. We can make tall
buildings and houses stronger. And we can teach people what to do if there is an earthquake. This way, we
can make these natural disasters just a little bit less terrible.

(     )1. Earthquakes happen because there are too many human being's activities.              
(     )2. Even if we are careful enough, we don't know when earthquakes will happen.           
(     )3. The reason why earthquakes happen is known to us.                                    
(     )4. Only by making tall buildings and houses stronger, can we keep safe in the earthquake.
(     )5. The passage is only about the ways to fight against earthquakes.                     

     On the first day of class, Smith's foreign students fill in forms and give the information about themselves.
     Name: Claude
     Country: Germany (德國)
     Native Language (本族語): German
     Time in the USA: 9 months
     Family: I live with my parents.
     Work: I used to be an art teacher in Germany. But now I'm working in a company.
     Interests: I love painting. I like music, too.
     Name: Li Ming
     Country: China
     Native Language: Chinese
     Time in the USA: 2 years
     Family: I have one son. He is studying in China. My wife is an English teacher.
     Work: I was a math teacher, but now I'm a cook.
     Interests: I like cooking. I also like sports, such as basketball, table tennis and so on.
     Name: Carolina
     Country: Russia
     Native Language: Russian
     Time in the USA: 4 years
     Family: I live with my husband and 2 children.
     Work: I was a basketball player, but now I'm a teacher.
     Interests: I love sports. I like traveling.
     Name: Kalumi
     Country: Japan
     Native Language: Japanese
     Time in the USA: 3 months
     Family: My family, my parents and 4 brothers and sisters, all live in Japan. I'm here by myself.
     Work: I worked as a nurse in my country. Now I'm a shop assistant.
     Interests: I like such activities as reading, drawing and watching TV.

1. ______ has lived in America for the longest time among the four persons.

A. Kalumi
B. Carolina
C. Claude

2. ______ used to be teachers in their own countries.

A. Li Ming and Claude
B. Li Ming and Carolina
C. Kalumi and Claude

3. Of the four persons, ______ has a big family.

A. Claude
B. Carolina
C. Kalumi

4. ______ like sports.

A. Claude and Li Ming
B. Carolina and Kalumi
C. Li Ming and Carolina

5. These persons will ______ together.

A. draw pictures
B. study in the same class
C. teach English

                                                                My biggest problem
     My biggest problem is that I'm too busy. When I was young, I used to have so much time, but these days
I get up (1)e______ and stay in school all day. Then I go right home and eat (2)d______. Before I started high
school, I used to spend a lot of time (3)p______ games with my friends, but I just don't have the time anymore.
In the evening, I used to watch TV or chat (4)w______ my grandmother, but now I have to study. I love music,
and my father used to take me to concerts. These days, I hardly ever have time for concerts. I do my
homework and go to bed. I really (5)m______ the old days.

     Most Americans are happy to give directions on the street. When someone ask for directions, he usually
starts w______ (1) , Excuse me. This is the usual way to begin a conversation with a s______(2) or to ask
for information. When asking for directions, it often helps to add a little explanation (解釋), such as I'm news,
here or I'm a______ (3) I'm lost. You can also start with a q______ (4), such as Do you know this area Or
Can you tell me how to get to. . . ? Always repeat the directions after you h______ (5) them. Repeating will
help you remember, and it shows the person helping you that you understand.

     There are many advantages of becoming a professional musician. The biggest advantage is being able to
do something you love. You will have the chance to travel to many different places and meet a lot of different
people. That will open up your eyes.
     However, there are also disadvantages of being a professional musician. One of the biggest disadvantages
for most musicians is that they don't always have enough money. Most of the time, you will be looking for
jobs. Sometimes you won't be able to find a good job. Another disadvantage is the place you live in. If you
want to be a musician, you usually have to move to an area that has a lot of jobs, such as New York City.
The cost of living in these areas is usually very high. The third disadvantage is that you can't have a stable
family life. Different jobs will take a musician to different places, so most musicians are unable to have a
regular family.

1. The advantages of being a professional musician include all the following EXCEPT _______.

A. making a lot of money all the time
B. traveling to many different places
C. meeting a lot of different people

2. Which is NOT a disadvantage of being a professional musician?

A. Not always having enough money.
B. Being unable to have a stable family life.
C. Having the chance to meet many different people.

3. What does the underlined word"stable" mean in Chinese?

A. 幸福的
B. 穩(wěn)定的
C. 健康的

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The biggest advantage of being a musician is being able to live in big cities.
B. Most musicians are unable to have a regular family life because they enjoy traveling.
C. It's difficult for some musicians to find a good job sometimes.

5. The author mainly tells us _______  in the passage.

A. becoming a professional musician can also have problems
B. why people want to become professional musicians
C. not to become professional musicians

     In England, people don't (1) o_______ talk to each other when they travel. If you get on a bus or a train,
you can see people sitting and (2) l_______ out of the window. Other people may be reading (3) b_______ or
newspapers.
     When you (4) m_______ somebody in England, you may start with talking about the weather. So when
you want to chat with somebody in England, you can say, "Nice weather for the time of the year!"
     "It was a bit cold yesterday." Somebody may answer.
     "But it will get a little (5) w_______ now than before." You can answer.
     Talking like this, they will think, "How friendly you are!"

Dear students,
     I'm very happy to be your guest speaker today. It's a great pleasure to visit your school and meet all
of you here.
     I would like to tell you about myself. I have been a reporter for the past fifteen years. I chose this job so
I could travel the world, but the job has taught me many unforgettable lessons. This work is sometimes
difficult. I have seen wars, earthquakes, poverty and death. But I have also seen courage, hope and happiness.
     In India, I visited a city, There were many homeless children in it. Some were young and lived in the streets. But then a kind lady called Rosa opened a home for them. In one whole year, she was looking after two
hundred children, feeding them, teaching them and giving them hope.
     Another time, I was in Japan after a terrible earthquake. In a place, I found an old lady. Her house fell
down. Her son could hardly be alive., But the lady didn't give up hope. For four days, she moved heavy
stones by herself. She didn't stop until she found her son. He was still alive.
     Here in China, I met a young boy with a serious illness. He had to have twenty operations in hospital.
But when I met him, he was still smiling.
     Now when my life is difficult, I always remember the courage of the three people.

1. The guest speaker has worked as a reporter for _________ years.

A. 13
B. 14
C. 15

2. From the passage, we know Rosa was _________.

A. kind
B. unfriendly
C. hopeless

3. _________ made the old lady in Japan find her son at last.

A. Happiness
B. Hope
C. Reporters

4. When the guest speaker is in trouble, she always thinks of _________.

A. boring travels
B. the courage of the three people
C. many homeless children

5. The passage above is _________.

A. an e-mail
B. a letter
C. a speech

     For most people, the word "fashion" means "clothes", and people may ask the question," What clothes
are in fashion this year?" And they often use the word"fashionable" in the same way.."She was wearing a
fashionable coat," or "His shirt is really a fashionable color."
     Of course there are fashions in many things, not only in clothes. There are fashions in holidays, in
restaurants, in films and in books. There are even fashions in school subjects, jobs and in languages.
     Fashions change as time goes by. If you look at pictures of people or things from the past, you will see
that fashions have always changed. An English hduse of 1750 was not the same as one of 1650. A fashionable
man in 1780 looked very different from his grandson in 1860.
     Today fashions change very quickly. Some of this is natural. We hear about things much more quickly
than in the past. Newspapers, radios, telephones and televisions can now send information from one country
to another within a few hours.
     New fashions mean that people will buy new things r so, as you can see, there is a lot of money in fashion.

1. From this passage we know that "fashion" means _________.

A. new clothes only
B. popular things
C. everything

2. Which of the following things is fashionable today?

A. Surfing on the Internet.
B. An English house of 1650.
C. Clothes made in 1780.

3. Today fashions change very quickly because ________.

A. radios send information from one country to another within several days
B. new things that people like are not often shown on TV
C. people can quickly learn what is happening in the world

4. "There is money in fashion" means ________.

A. money can be made in fashion.
B. people like new things
C. People will spend much money buying new things

5. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Fashions and Clothes
B. What Is Fashion?
C. Money in Fashion