A four-year-old girl is lying in the arms of a doctor. She has just become motherless. The bombing
(轟炸)destroyed(毀壞)her home and killed her mother.
     Every day we see pictures like this on TVs or in newspapers. We see young Iraqi children begging
for food and water from American and British soldiers as they move through towns and cities towards
the capital, Baghdad(巴格達(dá)). We see these children following grown - ups, carrying bags of things
almost at the same size as their small bodies as they flee their homes in Baghdad.
     "Dad, why are the Americans striking(攻擊)us? Are we going to be killed?" asks the son of Abu
Sinar, an Iraqi engineer, Abu finds it hard to explain this war to his eight - year- old son.
     He tries to comfort(安慰)him by saying, "The bombs are far away from us. The Americans are
fighting the soldiers. We are going to be all right." Even though Abu knows this isn't always the truth.
But what else can he do? In Baghdad, parents give their children sleeping pills to make them sleep so
that they won't hear the sound of bombing. And all the schools are closed.
     "All we can do is to listen to and hear the war," said Abu. "We, all the people and the children,
have to live in fear. We feel hopeless and helpless. We don't know where the next bombs are going.
We can do nothing but wait to be killed. "

1. During the war, children are ________.

A. studying at school      
B. fighting at the front
C. safer than their parents    
D. in great danger

2. The children have to flee their homes because ________.

A. it is dangerous to stay at home because of the bombing
B. their parents are not at home
C. they want to get food and water
D. they want to welcome the foreign soldiers

3. "Sleeping pills" are ________.

A. a place to keep children safe
B. a kind of thing to help them to be away from the war
C. a kind of medicine to help them to fall asleep
D. a kind of food to make them strong

4. Abu finds it hard to explain this war to his son, because ________.

A. he doesn't want to tell him the real reason
B. he doesn't want to tell a lie
C. he doesn't know how to explain it clearly
D. it isn't good to tell him why

     Do you know the story about Tom? It was a true story. Tom was an English boy and he was eight
years old. Tom didn't like soap or water. Three or four times a day his mother said to him, "Tom, your
hands are very dirty again. Go and wash them." But Tom never wash them well. He only put his hands in
the water for a few second and then took them out again.
     Tom's uncle and aunt lived in another city. One day they came to stay with Tom's parents, and they
brought their small son, Ted, with them. Ted was seven years old and he didn't like soap or water, either.
     The boys sat with their parents for a few minutes and then they went outside. When they were playing, Tom looked at Ted's hand and then went back to Ted's parents and said proudly (驕傲地), " Ted's hands are dirtier than mine (比我的更臟)."
     "Of course they are." Ted said angrily, "You are one year older than I am."
1. Tom's mother asked him to _____ three or four times a day.
A. wash his hands
B. do his homework
C. clean his bedroom
D. wash his teeth
2. When Tom saw Ted's hands, he felt _____.
A. sorry
B. proud
C. sad
D. happily
3. Tom's hand is a little _____ than Ted's.
A. dirtier
B. cleaner
C. bigger
D. smaller
4. From the story we know that _____.
A. Tom liked soap and water, but Ted didn't
B. Ted liked soap and water, but Tom didn't
C. Tom and Ted liked soap and water
D. Tom and Ted didn't like soap or water
5. How many people are there in the story?
A. Four.
B. Five.
C. Six.
D. Seven.