Dear Grandma,
     I've been in Bluelake for two months now. It's a beautiful small city. Schools here begin at the end
of August. I like my school and I'm having a great time teaching Art History here.
     I'm now living in an apartment with a friend. From the window of my bedroom, I can see a beautiful
green hill with flowers and trees. Many people go there to have a picnic or to fly kites. I enjoy taking a
walk there every day after work and watching the people. 
    I miss you very much, Grandma, and I hope you can come and visit me here some day.
                                                                                                                              Love,
                                                                                                                              Jude

1. What is Bluelake?

A. A city.
B. A park.
C. A school.
D. An art museum.

2. What is Jude doing in Bluelake?

A. Working.
B. Studying.
C. Visiting a friend.
D. Taking a vacation.

3. Which picture best shows what Jude sees out of his bedroom window?

         A                     B                         C                          D

     Think about two people you know. How would you describe their personalities? Are they the
s_________(1)? Of course not! Everyone is different. Even identical twins have different personalities.
     Some people are very outgoing (外向的) and friendly. They like to be w_________(2) other
people all the time. Maybe they like to be the centre of attention. And some people are quiet-maybe
even s_________(3). They can be friendly, too. But they like to be alone or with just a f_________(4)
friends.
     Some people worry a lot. They may worry about many things, such as their jobs, their families and
anything that may happen in the future. H_________(5), some people don't worry about anything! They
n_________(6) mind what is going on next. These people are very relaxed.
     Some people are hard-working. They always do their b_________(7). But some people are lazy. They
don't care about d_________(8) things right or getting things done on time. Hard-working people always
get more chances than those lazy o_________(89) in life.
     And don't f_________(10) this: Everyone is different. That means you are special!

     A Bag of Kindness "Boys and girls, tomorrow I want you to bring a cup of macaroni (通心粉) for our
craft class, OK?" These (1)w______  from my teacher rang in my mind all evening. I was afraid of the next
day
because I knew we had no macaroni at home. Living in an alcoholic (嗜酒的) family, we never had too
much of anything (2)e______ beer bottles.
     I went home after school. Where could I find macaroni? I knew that the local bottle shop gave ten cents
for a beer bottle, so I decided to sell some bottles to get money for macaroni.
     I started to (3)c______ the bottles. After selling those bottles, I earned eighty cents. Although I did my
(4)b______, I still had no macaroni for my craft class. "Weren't you (5)l______when I asked you to bring it,
John?" my teacher asked. I went red in the face. I didn't know what to say and other children started laughing.
Then a little girl, Rosalyn, who sat beside me turned to me and said,"You can have some of (6)m______."She
offered a bag of macaroni to me. The (7)k______ in her eyes made me cry and I ran out of the room.
     I (8)n ______ took her macaroni or thanked her for her bag of kindness. However, I often think about
Rosalyn and the way she turned to save me that day. I used to spend a great deal of my life complaining and
keep kind people like Rosalyn (9)a______. After that class, I (10)c______. I am grateful to all the people like
Rosalyn that made this world a better place to live in.

     During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape. When I traveled across to the other side of
the island (島嶼), I could see the other islands, and I said to myself, "Perhaps I can get there with a boat.
Perhaps I can get back to England one day."
     So I decided to make myself a boat. I cut down a big tree, and then began to make a long hole (洞) in it.
It was hard work, but about six months later, I had a very fine canoe (獨木舟). Next, I had to get it down to
the sea. How silly I was! Why didn't I think before I began work? Of course, the canoe was too heavy. I
couldn't move it! I pulled and pushed and tried everything, but it didn't move. I was very unhappy for a long
time after that.
    That happened in my fourth year on the island. In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe, but I
did not try to escape in it. The boat was too small for a long journey, and I did not want to die at sea. The
island was my home now, not my prison, and I was just happy to be alive. A year or two later, I made myself
a second canoe on the other side of the island. I also built myself a second house there, and so I had two
homes.
     My life was still busy from morning to night. There were always things to do or to make. I learnt to make
new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals. They looked very strange, it is true, but they kept me
dry in the rain.
     I kept food and tools (工具) at both my houses, and also wild goats (山羊). There were many goats on
the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in. They learnt to take food from me, and soon I
had goats' milk to drink every day. I also worked hard in my corn (玉米) fields. And so many years went by.

1. The purpose of making a canoe on the island was to __________.

A. escape in it
B. get to the other side of the island
C. use it for food
D. go around the island

2. To survive, the writer did the following EXCEPT __________.

A. keeping goats for milk
B. making clothes from animal skins
C. working in the cornfields
D. going fishing in the sea

3. Why didn't the writer use his first canoe?

A. Because it was too small for a long journey.
B. Because it was too heavy to get down to the sea.
C. Because there was something wrong with it.
D. Because the writer was busy building a second house.

4. From the story, we can learn that __________.

A. the writer tried to make his stay comfortable on the island
B. the writer had nothing to do on the wild island
C. the writer tried to escape in the second canoe, but failed
D. the writer was in prison on the island, losing his freedom

      How do you feel when you have to make a speech (演講) in front of class? What about when you go to
a birthday party? Do you get really shy?
     Shyness means feeling nervous or frightened when you're around other people. Experts have found that
more than 80% middle school students feel afraid to be the centre of attention. Some kids are born shy. Some
become shy later because of their life experiences.
      It's OK if it takes you a while to feel yourself again when you go to a new place or meet new people. In
fact, everybody gets a little shy sometimes. It's just a case of how much.
     Most people have red faces and talk in broken sentences when they get shy. But some become so shy
that they won't go to a restaurant because they are too nervous to order and pay the bill. Some are afraid to
meet new people, so they seldom go outside. This kind of shyness can be bad for a person.
     If shyness doesn't stop you from doing anything you want to do, being shy isn't a very big problem.
Some experts say shy people are quieter and cleverer because they think more and talk less. Shy people are
also good at working with others because they think more for other people. Some great people in history
were shy, too.
    You see, being shy isn't all bad. But remember not to let good chances pass by just because of it! If you
have to sing a song at a birthday party or practise your spoken English in front of others, just do it! There's
nothing to be afraid of. 

                                               Shyness

     Traveling is one of the most important activities and people have been interested in it for many years.
Modern traffic develops fast, so traveling to different places has become much easier than before.
     Staying healthy while traveling can make your trip happier. But do you know how to keep healthy
during a trip? The following information may be useful for you.
Before leaving:
● Wear comfortable shoes, a hat and sunglasses.
● Take some necessary medicine with you. They can be used when you get sick or have other problems.
● If you do lots of sports like walking or climbing on your trip, you should do some exercise for weeks
or months before you leave.
While traveling:
● Be sure not to eat dirty food or bad fruit.
● Have enough time to take a rest during your trip.
● Tap water (自來水) is not safe, so drink bottled water and always clean the cover on the bottle.

1. You should _____ before you leave your home for a trip.

A. get some medicine
B. clean the cover
C. drink much water
D. wear warm clothes

2. You had better not _____ while you are having a trip.

A. wear sunglasses
B. be too tired
C. wear a hat
D. take a rest

3. If you _____ while traveling, your trip will be happier.

A. walk fast
B. eat too much
C. keep healthy
D. climb the mountain

     Different people have different ideas about time. People in the USA think that it is important to know
the time. In cities in America, there are clocks in stations, factories and other buildings. Radio tells the
correct time during the day. Most Americans also have watches with them wherever they go. They want
to do certain things at certain time. They don't like to be late.
     But time is not so important to everybody in the world. When you visit a country in South America,
you will find that people there don't like to rush. If you had an appointment with somebody, he could
probably be late, because he may not want to arrive on time.
     In South America, even the radio program may not begin on time. The men on the radio may not think
it is important to tell the exact time. People in South America think that clocks or watches are just machines.
They think that you let a clock or a watch control your life if you do everything on time.

1. Time is very important to ______.

A. people in North America
B. people in South America
C. the men on the radio
D. everybody in the world

2. The underlined word "control" probably means ______ in Chinese.

A. 改變
B. 控制
C. 創(chuàng)造
D. 擺脫

3. People in South America think ______.

A. they wouldn't like to meet friends in public places
B. they don't have to do certain things at certain time
C. it's wrong of a radio station to tell wrong time
D. it's their habit to be a little earlier

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A. Is your life relaxing?
B. Must radio tell the exact time?
C. Different people have different ideas about time.
D. Differences between North and South America are everywhere.