A little girl's lifeline

Three-year-old Alida Knobloch and her 27kg golden dog, Mr. Gibbs, are almost together all the time There is a special love between them. Alida, who suffered from(患有) serious lung disease (肺病) when she was 10 months old, is unable to breathe(呼吸) on her own for about 45 minutes. So Mr. Gibbs has been with her everywhere, carrying 4.5kg of oxygen tanks (氧氣罐) for her.

A pig that calms(使冷靜) kids

When Lois Brady, a famous doctor in America, visits special-needs students in San Francisco schools, she often brings along Buttercup, a black pig from Vietnam. The pig is very calm and friendly and has been trained to offer comfort (安慰) to patients as well.

A lion's big heart

With paws (爪子) the size of dinner plates, bright black eyes and a golden mane (鬃), Jupiter, a 13-year-old 250kg lion, was brought to the rescue (援救) center by Anna. In the past two years, Anna has developed a very close relationship(關(guān)系) with Jupiter.

【1】The best title to explain the main idea of the text is “_________”

A. Hero pets B Small pets

【2】Which of the following do you think is the right match?

A. Alida →a lion B. Buttercup →a pig

C. Lois →a sick girl D. Jupiter → a doctor

【3】How long has Mr. Gibbs been with Alida?

A. For about 45 minutes B. For about 10 months

C. For over 3 years D .For over 2 years

【4】In which of the following pictures can you find Anna?

A. B. C. D.

【5】Which of the sentences is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Alida has suffered from serious lung disease since she was 10 months old

B. The black pig can calm the kids and offer comfort to them.

C. Mr. Gibbs is a loyal(忠誠的) dog which loves its owner.

D. Anna brought Jupiter to the rescue center for fun.

A farmer had four lambs ( 羔羊) . One was black ， and the other three were white. The black lamb was friendly to the others in the group . But the white lamb s often laughed at him. They thought he was ugly. The farmer did not like him， either. He gave bad food to the black lamb.

One winter day， the four lambs went out to eat grass. They went far away from home. Suddenly， it began to snow. It was such a heavy snow that the ground was all white soon. They couldn’t find the way home.

When the farmer found that the lambs were not at home， he went out to look for them. There was snow everywhere. Suddenly， he saw something black . He went to it. Oh ， it was his black lamb! And the white lambs were there， too. The farmer said excitedly， “Thanks to the black lamb， I can find you! ”

【1】What did the white lambs think of the black lamb?

A.Friendly. B.Kind. C.Ugly. D.Beautiful.

【2】The farmer gave bad food to ________

A.the black lamb B.the white lambs

C.all the lambs D.his black dog

【3】The lambs couldn t find the way home because

A.they were far away from home

B.the ground was covered with thick snow

C.the wind was blowing hard

D.they didn t want to go back home

【4】The farmer found all the lambs after______.

A.he saw the black lamb

B.he saw the white lambs

C.he heard the sound of the lambs

D.they came back home

【5】What can we learn from the story?

A.Appearance is the most important in our life.

B.A friend in need is a friend indeed.

C.Don t tell a person by his appearance.

D.Many hands make light work.

My name is Daniel. I'm in Grade 8. 【1】 Now want to tell you something about my school life.

We go to school five days a week. We study Chinese, math and English. We also have other subjects, such as geography, history, physics and computer science. 【2】 So we need to make some resolutions and plans. But sometimes it's hard to keep them.

【3】 Some clubs are for fun, such as the Chess Club and the Basketball Club. Some clubs are for study, such as the Math Club and the Geography Club. I'm a member (成員) of the Geography Club. I love geography.

【4】 There are 1,309 students of different grades in our school. Many new students may have problems with their new school life. When they have problems, they sometimes don't want to tell the teachers. 【5】 These older students are happy to talk with the new students. They try their best to help them with their problems.

Biking is an amazing family activity，but finding a route that is suitable for different，ages is a little difficult．Lee McNeil and his family ate crazy about biking．They have seven children，from 4 to 24 years old．When looking for a route，they look for enough protection from traffic，good surface condition and interesting views．

Here are some great routes for biking with your whole family which are suggested by McNeil．

Iron Horse Trail

This is the McNeil family's favorite ride．The route ~s 26 miles and goes through the 2．1 mile Snoqualmie Tunnel．"Beautiful views，the tunnel，and places to stop and watch the rock climbers make it special，" McNeil said．"All our kids have taken their turn to go through the black tunnel bravely for the first time and we celebrate it at the end of the ride．" If you prefer，check http://bit，ly/Mlt9y4 for more information．

Centennial Trail

The Centennial Trail runs for 23 miles from Snohomish to Bryant．The trail is wide and smooth，and is safe for kids as it is off the roads．A nice stop is Lake Cassidy east of Marysville．A dock（碼頭） on the lake is fun to explore．It also has picnic tables and washrooms for a convenient（方便的） lunch-time stop．For a map，go to http：//bit．ly/L5qCeY．

Cascade Trail

The Cascade Trail is 23 miles．The slope（斜坡） is gentle and it makes for an easy family ride．McNeil said it is a "beautiful ride up the Skagit Valley，with lots of places to watch wildlife along the river"．Go to http://bit，ly/PR4wOW to see a map showing the trail，parking areas and bus stops．

Other good choices

Snoqualmie Valley Trail: http : // L．usa．Gov/n WGWO

Guemes Island: http://bit，ly/LJ3RxL

Burke-Gilman Trail: http : //l．usa．gov/ s33li

【1】Which of the following route do McNeil's family like best?

A．Cascade Trail． B．Iron Horse Trail．

C．Centennial Trail． D．Burke-Gilman Trail．

【2】If you choose the Centennial Trail，you can ____．

A，watch the rock climbers B．see a small valley

C．go through a tunnel D．have a picnic for lunch

【3】The main purpose of the passage is to ____．

A．a(chǎn)sk people to learn from Lee McNeil

B．tell people how to make a family ride

C．introduce some routes for family rides

D．encourage more people to ride bikes

Greenwood Park is the best place to go to on weekends. I【1】 finish my breakfast the fastest on Saturdays because I want to get there before 10:00 a.m. to meet my friends. Almost everyone goes there to see the street 【2】. I think they are the most【3】 people.【4】, the place where you can enjoy your time the most quietly is at one of the small coffee shops near the park. There is 【5】 for everyone at Greenwood Park.

【題目】

Do you like sunny days? Many people like sunny days, 【1】 they can go out to do what they like. And on holidays or at 【2】, they like going to the beach to 【3】 the sunshine. It makes them 【4】. But they don’t like rain. They always feel sad when it 【5】. I like sunshine very much, and I enjoy rain, 【6】.

On rainy days, I like to listen to music, do some 【7】 or just look out of the window. Sometimes, I will have a good 【8】 and sleep when it rains.

Sunshine may make one run around and rain may make one quiet. Which do you like 【9】? I hope you can have a good 【10】 no matter when it is sunny or rainy.

A. is going to be B. are going to have

C. will be D. will have

【1】You are good with children, so you can call at ________.

A．605-968-5957 B．602-752-3425 C．601-200-4365 D．604-368-2745

【2】If you are interested in repairing things, you can go to ________.

A．Blue Water Beach B．Home Love

C．Sunny Children's Hospital D．S.O.S Children's Village

【3】If you want to volunteer on the beach this weekend, it will take you ________.

A． one hour B．two hours C．eight hours D．ten hours

【4】What can you do in S.O.S Children's Village?

A．Clean up the beach. B．Fix up old things.

C. Play fun games. D．Teach English.

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Isabel Allende’s novels are enjoyed all over the world. She is famous for her creativity and imagination. And her own personal story is as amazing as any she has ever told in a novel. Born in 1942, Allende’s family moved often during her childhood. She went to school in South America, Europe, and Asia. As a young woman, she became a journalist in Santiago, Chile’s (智利) capital city. Then, she got married and had two children. In 1970, everything began to change.

Leaving home

Isabel Allende’s uncle was a political leader named Salvador Allende. In 1970, her uncle was elected president of Chile. In 1973, Augusto Pinochet led a military takeover (軍事接管) of the Chilean government. President Allende was killed during the fighting. When Isabel Allende began to fear for her life, she and her family decided to move to Venezuela (委內(nèi)瑞拉).

From Newspaper to Novels

It was really a painful experience for Isabel Allende to flee her country. Without this experience, however, Allende says she never would have begun writing novels. Then she got a phone call from Chile. Her grandfather was dying. She knew she could not return home to be with him, but she wanted to respect him in some way. “I decided to write a letter about all the things he told us when we were young,” Allende explains. Later, he wrote a long letter which became Allende’s first novel, The House of the Spirits.

The Writing Life

“I spent ten, twelve hours a day in a room, writing,” Allende says, “I don’t talk to anybody; I don’t answer the phone.” When she finishes the first draft (草稿) of a new novel, Allende mails a copy to her toughest critic (最嚴(yán)厲的評論家). “I send it to my mother in Chile. She reads it and comes here with a red pencil. We fight for a month at least.” Allende then goes back to work until she feels the book is finished. “The storytelling is the fun part,” she says. “The writing can be a lot of work!”

【1】Isabel Allende’s own personal story is very amazing, isn’t it?

【2】What was Isabel Allende before she got married?

【3】How did the military takeover influence (影響) Isabel Allende’s life?

【4】Why did Isabel Allende start writing her first novel?

【5】How do you understand “We fight for a month at least” in the last paragraph?

【6】What kind of person do you think Isabel Allende is? Give your reason(s).