A. While B. When C. Before D. After

Who is the greatest teacher in Chinese history？ You can' t think of anyone else when you hear people read Confucius' 2，500﹣year﹣old words：

"All study but no thinking makes people puzzled． All thinking but no study makes people lazy．"

September 28th was Confucius' birthday． He was born in the Kingdom of Lu，in today's Shandong Province． He had a hard child． His father died when he was only 3． His mother brought him up， As a child， he had to work to help his mother， but young Confucius didn't give up studying． He visited many famous teachers and learned music， history， poetry and sports．

Later， he became a teacher and started the first public school in Chinese history． At that time，only children from rich families could go to school if they wanted to learn． He had about 3，000students in his lifetime．

Chinese look upon Confucius as the greatest thinker and also the greatest teacher． For more than 2 ， 500years，Confucius' ideas have been around in people's everyday lives． Now they have gone far into Western countries and South Asia． People can still hear them today．

Why are his ideas so popular？ Confucius' most important ideas are kindness and good manners．Confucius said young people should take care of the old． A kind person should care for others． Be strict wish yourself， but be kind to others． As a great teacher， Confucius said that all should go to school if they wanted to learn． People use his ideas to help themselves and society． Now， more than 100Internet websites are teaching people about Confucius and his ideas．

【1】Why do we still remember Confucius today？　 　

A.Because he had about 3，000students in his lifetime．

B.Because he lived a poor life in his childhood．

C.Because he had wise thoughts．

D.Because he started the first public school in Chinese history．

【2】The underlined word "them" in the fourth paragraph refers to　 　．

A.the greatest thinker and teacher

B.Confucius' students

C.people in Western countries and South Asia

D.Confucius' ideas

【3】Which of the following is NOT Confucius' words？　 　

A.People should get education．

B.The young should take care of the old．

C.Be strict with yourself， but be kind to others．

D.All study but no thinking makes people lazy．

Do you want to become better at making small talk with new people? Do you want to become better at networking with others? Nothing will improve your networking ability and your ability to make a successful conversation with other people rather than your curiosity about them.

When you are curious about other people, you will want to discover some of the interesting ways that they are similar to you. When you are curious about them, you’ll also be interested to discover the ways in which they think differently and live differently from you.

When you have curiosity about others, you will be much less self-conscious and your conversations will work a lot better. Instead of worrying yourself, “What can I say next that won’t sound stupid?” you will be focused on learning more about the other person.

Making small talk with strangers can be tricky. We’ve all heard the advice that we should pick something out of our immediate environment and use that as a main point to start our small talk with the other person.

It’s true that this can be a great starting point for a conversation. However, when you focus too much on discussing things like the weather in your city, you can bring the conversation to a painful end very quickly. The other person will sense that you are trying to make a conversation, but that you have no interest in really getting to know him or her.

How can you keep small talk from becoming boring?

One way is to watch the other person for clues they will give you about what is really interesting to them. When you get these clues, use them to start making the conversation a bit more about their life, their opinions, and their experiences.

After you have had a couple of minutes to break the ice, try looking for ways to make the conversation a little bit more personal. Ask the other person for his or her opinion about something that is a bit more personal but not extremely so. The first few minutes of talking to someone new will not be the best time to ask the other person his or her opinion on religious （宗教的） or political（政治的） matters. However, he or she might be happy to discuss his or her favorite team or musical band.

【1】In Paragraph 1, the writer mainly wants to tell us that___________.

A.it’s hard to make a talk with new people

B.curiosity can help us start a good small talk

C.curiosity helps us know new people quickly

D.it’s hard to make a successful talk with others

【2】The underlined word “self-conscious” in Paragraph 3 probably means___________.

A.nervousB.seriousC.self-centeredD.self-controlled

【3】What is the best title for the passage?

A.The way of starting small talk.

B.The importance of small talk in our life.

C.Improving our small talk with curiosity.

D.Improving our relationship through small talk.

【1】Why were”gondolas” the main means of transportation in Venice?

A.Because the people didn't like traveling by car.

B.Because the city had wonderful buildings.

C.Because there were a lot of canals in the city.

【2】If you want to enjoy the beauty of nature, which city should you visit?

A.Venice.B.Chicago.C.Rio de Janeiro.

【3】Which of the following is TRUE about Chicago?

A.It is the main business and cultural center of the Mideast.

B.If you are interested in plays. Chicago is a good place to go to.

C.You can go shopping in this city, but not around John Hancock Center.

A. before B. unless C. because D. until

--- He’s my new teacher.

A. Who’s B. What’s C. How’s D. Whose

A. Close B. Don’t close

C. Don’t open D. Dosen’t close

—I taught________.

A. me B. him C. her D. myself

Picky, Picky

Scientists have no idea exactly why birds choose certain objects to build their nests. But scientists know that the main reason birds build nests is to keep their babies safe, warm and healthy.

Baby birds grow faster and are healthier when they are warm. They also learn to fly and leave the nests sooner than birds without warm homes.

What A Yarn (紗)Is

Yarn is big on an oriole’s shopping list during nest building. Scientists are still trying to work out why so many birds choose white yarn over other colors for nest building.

Scientists think that the white objects remind birds of cotton fluff (絨毛) they find in the wild.

Do It Naturally

Even though birds can help us recycle some of our junk by using it to build nests, they also need to use lots of natural things. Long grass, dried sticks, spider’s silk and mud are some of the natural ingredients that are good for nests, too.

You can make a collection box of things to leave for birds so they can help themselves. Hang a small plastic box with holes on a tree branch. Fill the box freely with nest building goodies. Hang the box on a tree and watch birds climb on board to pick through the junk to find their treasures.

Warning: Don’t let the birds turn into a tasty treat. Keep your bird station away from places where cats hang out.

For The Birds!

Stop! Don’t throw all that garbage out! Give some to the birds. Look and see how your old junk can help beautify and warm a bird’s new home.

【1】The baby birds with warm homes are able to ___________.

A.learn to fly earlierB.grow slower

C.build better nestsD.leave the nests safer

【2】What can people make for birds to build nests?

A.A warning board.B.Holes on a tree branch.

C.Food in the garbage.D.A collection box of things.

【3】What is the purpose of the passage?

A.To tell us how birds build nests.

B.To show the importance of nests to birds.

C.To tell humans what they can do to help birds.

D.To show the bad relationship between birds and cats.

Bentwood Truck Museum Saturday,

November 8, at 10:00 A. M.

After eighteen months of hard work by more than 100 volunteers, the Bentwood Truck Museum is ready to open. The old factory on the corner of Palmer Street and Norman Drive had been scheduled to be destroyed. When Roger Haygood heard about the plans to tear down the building, he bought it so that he could store his collection of old trucks there. Then he had the idea of turning the building into a truck museum.

During the past year and a half, the old building has been transformed into a treasure chest of memories. Instead of a dark and dull house, the building has become a cheery, bright home for all kinds of trucks from the past.

The museum now houses 68 trucks, and we hope to have even more soon. There is a 1959 school bus, a 1942 bakery truck, and a 1937 fire engine. Our oldest vehicle is a 1919 milk truck. Our newest vehicle is a 1966 tow truck.

You can take a ride on a fire truck, a mail truck, or an ice-cream truck. Rides are $2.00, but you can get a ticket for a free ride at any grocery store in Bentwood.

Help us celebrate our grand opening by bringing your family and friends! There is something to interest everyone who attends. The Bentwood Truck Museum is a special piece of our history.

To get to Bentwood Truck Museum, take Route 29 (Kingston Highway) to Palmer

Street.

Go south on Palmer Street for one block and take a left onto Norman Drive.

You will see the museum building and the amusement park on your left.

Parking is available across the street, on your right.

【1】In which of the following can visitors take a ride?

A.A school bus.B.A bakery truck.

C.A milk truck.D.A mail truck.

【2】Where is Bentwood Truck Museum?

A.On Kingston Highway.

B.On Robert Street.

C.On Norman Drive.

D.On Elliott Street.

【3】What is special about this museum?

A.It exhibits trucks dating back to 200 years ago.

B.It is not possible for you to drive to the museum.

C.It’s transformed from an old factory by volunteers.

D.It is built because an old factory has been destroyed.