Can you imagine keeping an alien dog as a pet? This is what happens in CJ7-the so-called "first
Chinese sci-fi (科幻) movie". It came out in January, 2008. The movie is about a poor man Ti, his son
Dicky and their alien dog CJ7. Dicky, a 10-year-old boy, lives a poor life with his father Ti, a worker.
One day, his father discovers a ball in the trash and he gives it to Dicky. The ball becomes a cute alien
dog. It's a small dog with big eyes and green hair. It can talk and do magic. Soon the dog comes to love
Ti and his son. It goes to school with Dicky. It makes him laugh, but it makes trouble, too. When Ti falls
off a building and dies, CJ7 saves his life. Because the dog uses up all its power(能量), it becomes a doll. But Dicky still wears the dog around his neck. He hopes that CJ7 will come back to life one day.

(     )1. The movie CJ7 came out in February, 2008.                      
(     )2. Dicky's father is so rich that he buys an alien dog for him.  
(     )3. CJ7 is a cute alien dog with big eyes and gray hair.            
(     )4. CJ7 can not only make Dicky laugh but also make trouble.        
(     )5. At last Ti comes back to life because his son and CJ7 save him.

     Cell phones are all around us. We use cell phones to call our friends, send text messages, play
games, and even take photographs. Now imagine using your cell phone to call your air conditioner. If
this were possible, you could tell your air conditioner to turn on before you got home. Does this sound
impossible to you? Well, it could become possible sooner than you think. In the near future, we might
use cell phones as remote controls for the electrical devices in our homes.
     People are already working to develop different ways to communicate wirelessly with devices we
use every day. For example, it is already possible for cell phones to communicate with laptop
computers. Business people using laptops during meetings can use their cell phones as remote controls.
They can use their cell phones to send instructions to computers to turn on, change pictures, and turn
off.
     With the same technology, people can use their cell phones to control other devices. You can call
your stereo to play music automatically. You can call your lights to turn on when you enter a room.
Maybe even by next summer you will be able to call your air conditioner!

1. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. In the future we will all need air conditioners.
B. Business people need to use computers.
C. Some people like to make phone calls to machines.
D. We will use cell phones as remote controls in the future.

2. Cell phones can be used to turn on and off ________ in the future.

A. a special computer
B. different kinds of devices
C. cell phone companies
D. remote controls

3. Which probably could NOT be controlled by a cell phone?

A. An air conditioner or heater.
B. A computer or printer.
C. A table or a basket.
D. A CD player or MP3 player.

4. When will people be able to use their cell phones as remote controls for their homes?

A. Now.
B. Soon.
C. In ten or fifteen years.
D. Never.

5. Which instructions can be sent to a laptop according to the passage?

A. Play sound and music.
B. Start and shut down.
C. Call again and hang up.
D. Go faster and go slower.

     Now there are many thousands of computers all around the world. Some of them are big and some of them are
small.  They are very useful . People can use them to send and get e-mails,   look for   things on the Internet, play
computer games ... But in 1946 the first computer in the world cannot do these things. It is for calculating. It is as
big as a room! Only some scientists can use it. Some people say the first computer is in China. Why do they think
so? Because the first abacus(the oldest calculating machine) appeared much earlier in China than the big computer
in America.      
Notes: calculate 計(jì)算 scientist 科學(xué)家 abacus 算盤 appear 出現(xiàn)

回答下列問(wèn)題:

1.What can people use the computer to do ?
_______________________________________________________.
2.Can the first computer do these thing in 1946?
___________________________________________________.
3.What is the first computer used for?
____________________________________________________________.
4.Why do some people think the first computer is in China?
__________________________________________
5.What do you think of it? Do you think the first  computer is in China ,too?
____________________________.

     American schools begin in September after a long summer vacation (假期). There are two terms
(學(xué)期) in a school year: the first term is from September to January, and the second is from February
to June. Most American children go to public schools (公立學(xué)校). High school students take only four
or five subjects at a time. They usually go to the same classes every day. After school they join many
clubs. After high school (高中), many students go to college (大學(xué)).

1.  American schools begin in _____.         

A. February   
B. September   
C. June    
D. January

2.  How many terms do American children have each year?      

A. One.    
B. Two.    
C. Three.    
D. Four.

3.  Students in the high school have _____ subjects at a time.     

A. four    
B. five    
C. six    
D. four or five

4.  Which of the following is false (錯(cuò)誤)?         

A.  In July students don't need to go to school.
B.  Students usually go to the same classes every day.
C.  Students can't join many clubs after school.
D.  Most American children go to public schools.

5.  After school students _____.         

A. do homework    
B. go back home
C. join the clubs    
D. go to movies

     We are learning English, but how can we learn English well? A student can know a lot about English but maybe
he can't speak English.
     If you want to know how to swim, you must get into the river. And if you want to be a football player, you must
play football.
     So, you see, you can learn by using(通 過(guò) 運(yùn) 用)it.  You must listen to your teacher in class. You must speak
English to your classmates(同學(xué)) every day and also you must write something in English. Then one day you may
find your English very good.

1. You know a lot about English, but maybe _____ it.

A. you can speak  
B. you can study  
C. you can't speak
D. you can't study

2. You must get into the water __________________.

A. to learn how to swim
B. to jump  
C. to skate  
D. to play

3. Do you want to be a football player? Please _ ________________.

A. buy a football    
B. play football
C. have some lessons  
D. read some books

4. If you want to study English well, you must often ________________.

A. speak English to your classmates
B. write something in English
C. listen to your teacher in class
D. A, B and C

5. The article(文章) tells us ____________________.

A. how to learn English well
B. how to swim  
C. how to play football
D. how to go boating

     Most animals only have animals of a different kind for food. But sometimes two kinds of animals come
  together in a partnership (伙伴關(guān)系) which is good for them. You may have noticed some birds on the
 backs of sheep. This is not because they want a ride, but because they find easy food in the parasites (寄
 生蟲(chóng)) on sheep. The sheep let the birds do so because they can stop the parasites from troubling them.
 So though they can do with it by themselves, they can do better together with each other.
     Sometimes an animal has a plant partner. The relationship develops until the two partners cannot do
 without each other. This is so in corals (珊瑚) of the sea. Inside their bodies they have very small plants,
  which act as "cleaners", taking the useless things from the coral and giving oxygen in return. That is what
 the animal needs to live. If the plants are killed, or are even kept from receiving light so that they cannot
 live as usual, the corals will die.