Potato Chips
        History: Potatoes came from South America. We know that the people of Peru were eating potatoes
as long as 2,000 years ago.
        Potatoes were not widely grown in Europe (歐洲) until the early 19th century.
        Production: The first chip factory in Britain was opened in the early 1900s by Frank Smith. For about
50 years, Smith's Chips were the only ones that you could buy. Potatoes are cut, cooked in vegetable oil
(油), dried and packed. It takes only 12 minutes to turn a potato into a bag of chips. 
       Chips are the most popular snack (零食) in the UK. Around 8,500 million bags are sold every year.
Each person eats 3.5 kg every year.
       Making potato chips in South America 
       Potatoes are grown in the mountains of South America. This is how the village people make their own
potato chips.
A. At harvest (收獲) time, the villagers dig up the potatoes and bring them into the village. The potatoes are
     put on the ground in the middle of the village.
B. The villagers walk all over the potatoes and flatten (弄平) them. They do this every day and keep on doing
     so for five days.
C. While they are out in the open, the potatoes are dried in the sun and in the cold night air, the potatoes are
     left on the ground.
D. After five days, the chips are ready and are put into strong bags. The potato chips are kept in the food
     store until winter.
     After reading the steps above in making potato chips, please match them to the pictures below.

(     )1.
(     )2.
(     )3.
(     )4.

    Throughout history, people had dreamed about joining England and France together. Even Napoleon had
a plan to dig a tunnel (隧道) and reach England. One of the first people who tried to dig a tunnel under the
Channel (英吉利海峽) was a French engineer called Albert Mathieu. His tunnel failed.
    In 1881, Colonel Beamont and Captain English from Britain also tried to dig a tunnel. Their tunnel went
six kilometers into the Channel. Queen Victoria stopped them and said it was dangerous to connect with
France. It was a very good tunnel, and it is still there today. The new tunnel (ready in 1993) is, in fact,
three tunnels-two for trains and a "service tunnel" for fresh air to go in and for men who take care of the
tunnels. The tunnels are fifty kilometers long, forty meters under water. Forty kilometers of tunnel are
under the sea itself. They are the longest undersea tunnels in the world. Trains travel through the tunnels
at 160 km/h. People drive their cars onto trains and the trains take them through the tunnel. Each train takes
1,500 people and there are trains every ten minutes.
   A special radio station called Channel Channel has started, because it is impossible to receive normal radio
signals (信號) when you are under the sea. The station sends news to keep people up-to-date with the "world
outside" while they are in the tunnel.

1. What was people's dream about England and France?

A. Napoleon could reach England.
B. Napoleon could dig a tunnel for them.
C. Albert Mathieu would succeed.
D. England and France could be joined together.

2. Which is TRUE about the tunnel building in 1881?

A. The tunnel went six kilometers from France.
B. Tunnel-building was a dangerous job.
C. The old tunnel is still under the sea.
D. The queen agreed to the digging plan.

3. What's the traveling like in the tunnel?

A. Trains and cars can travel at 160 km/h.
B. People can travel by trains through two tunnels.
C. It takes ten minutes to go through the tunnel by train.
D. People can drive their cars or take trains through the tunnel.

4. Channel Channel has started to ______.

A. tell people what the date is
B. send news about people in the tunnel
C. tell people news about the outside world
D. receive radio signals of the outside world

5. The passage mainly tells us ______.

A. the history of the Channel tunnel
B. the importance of the Channel tunnel
C. it's hard work to dig an undersea tunnel
D. the people who tried to dig the Channel tunnel

    Tibet is among the most popular places for Chinese tourists. The number of travelers to Tibet has grown
by 10 percent every year for a few years. What is the best way to go to Tibet for tourist trip, by plane, by
bus or by train? People who want to go to Tibet always ask this question. If you take the plane, you won't
see the beautiful places on the way. If you take the bus, you will be very tired after the trip. If you take the
train, you can enjoy the scenery along the way and sleep quite well. Now, since July 1, when the first train
ran 1,956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa, more and more people have been going to Tibet.
    The train stops at several famous places along the way, such as Qinghai Lake, Kunlun Mountain, and the
Potala Palace. Passengers can enjoy many activities during the journey, like the Tibetan dancing and Karaoke.
On the train, passengers can have tea, eggs and noodles for breakfast, and fried green vegetables and chicken
for lunch. Unlike most Chinese trains which have open-hole toilets, this one has special toilets which can
collect the waste. There is also a special garbage system in the train that keeps the environment clean.
    All the windows on the train can protect people from the bright sunlight. Other equipment, such as
televisions and electrical sockets for computers and cell phones, can also be found on the train. 
    Because there isn't much oxygen there, trains will have oxygen masks for those who need them. It makes
the passengers feel more comfortable when they have enough oxygen on the famous "roof of the world".
There are also doctors on the train to make sure that all of the travelers are safe.

1. This year 20,000 people visit Tibet, so in next year ______ tourists will come to Tibet.

A. 20,000
B. 22,000
C. 21,000
D. 23,000

2. What's the advantage of traveling to Tibet by train?

A. It's fast.
B. It's safe.
C. People can enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way and sleep quite well.
D. It's cheap.

3. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The first train ran from Qinghai to Lhasa.
B. On the train to Tibet there are open-hole toilets.
C. If you feel sick, you can ask the doctor for help on the train.
D. On the train you can enjoy the bright sunshine.

     Tanzania (坦桑尼亞) is a country which has a lot of animals, such as gnus (角馬), lions, cheetahs
(獵豹), elephants, giraffes, crocodiles and so on. Every year, many people in the world travel to this
African country to watch the animals closely. But do you know how they travel? 
      By bus-This is the most common way. When people get on a bus, they'll find that the bus is a little
strange. It is different from the buses we often see. There are no big windows at all, but some small
windows. And it looks like a cage. What are they used for? Oh, people can use it to watch animals,
especially those dangerous animals, and take photos. We know that people are most interested in the lions.
So when two buses meet, the drivers will stop and ask each other whether they have found lions.
     By boat-We can often see many people are in a boat, enjoying the beautiful scene along a river of a
lake, and they can also enjoy hippos (河馬) and crocodiles from a nearer distance.
     By hot balloon (熱氣球)-In the early morning, when the sun is beginning to rise, a large hot balloon is
also starting its journey. Taking a hot balloon makes most of the travelers excited. After some time, the
balloon will land in a certain place, and the waiters will serve people a delicious and special breakfast. But
the cost of taking a hot balloon is also very high. A person should pay 400 dollars for an hour's trip.

1. Which is the most common way of traveling in Tanzania?

A. By bus
B. By plane
C. By boat
D. By hot balloon

2. The bus is a little strange because            .

A. it has no doors
B. it looks like a cage
C. people can take photos
D. it has no driver

3. If you want to watch hippos carefully, you'd better            .

A. take a bus
B. take a hot balloon
C. be on a boat
D. swim in the river

4. Which one is not right?

A. Taking a hot balloon for a whole morning will cost 400 dollars.
B. Many people go to Tanzania for travelling.
C. Tanzania is an African country.
D. The different traveling ways make people happy and they'll have a good time.

5. Which one can be the best title?

A. The beautiful country-Tanzania
B. The ways of traveling in Tanzania
C. Why do we take a bus to travel?
D. Different animals in Tanzania

    Recently, children's literature (文學(xué)) has become more and more popular. In fact, children's literature
has been welcomed by both children and adults. People have tried to find out why adults love children's
literature just like children themselves. But there is no final answer.
    Children's literature is very different from adult's literature. Most of it is fantasy (幻想). That means
children can use their imagination. They can enjoy the fantasy world, which is never boring. The most
important thing is that the world is bright and hopeful. In the fantasy world, dead people can be alive again
and broken legs can grow once more. Right always beats wrong in the end. 
    Children's literature can also influence children a lot in education. When they read, their knowledge is
increased and children know more about the truth. For a child who just learns to read, understanding the
meaning of a word may be greater than learning the word itself.
    Children's literature is not only for children. A large number of adults like it too. Not only young adults,
parents and teachers, but also other people of all ages enjoy it. Both children and adults who love children's
literature can get much pleasure from it.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容回答問題。
1. Is children's literature becoming more popular now?
                                                                                                                                   
2. What's the fantasy world like?
                                                                                                                                   
3. What does the sentence "Right always beats wrong in the end" mean in Chinese?
                                                                                                                                    
4. How does children's literature influence children in education?
                                                                                                                                    
5. How do the people feel when they read children's literature?
                                                                                                                                    

    English is spoken as a first language by most people in the USA, Britain, Australia, New Zealand,
Ireland and Canada. However, English is spoken all over the world. It is the main language in over 60
countries, including India, Singapore and many of the Caribbean and Pacific islands. In these places
English is spokenas a second language.
    English is also an international language in many other countries, like China and Japan. People in
these countries use it for business, and travelers to these countries use English when they get there to
communicate. Other people may learn English because they enjoy reading books in English, listening to
British or American music or watching American films.
    English has changed a lot over the years and still goes on changing. It is no longer right to talk about
British English or American English if the speakers come or don't come from those countries. People in
Japan and Korea, for example, may use the American spelling but may not sound like Americans.
    English will probably be the most widely used language in the world by the end of the 21st century.
This language no longer belongs to British, American or Australian speakers. It be-longs to anyone in the
world. So, as a middle school student of English today, think about how you can use this language. After
you leave school, you will almost certainly need it.

1. In how many countries is English spoken as a first language?

A. Five.
B. Four.
C. Three.
D. Six.

2. In which other countries is English spoken as a main language?

A. Britain, the USA, Australia.
B. India, Singapore and many of the Caribbean and Pacific islands.
C. China, Japan.
D. Over 60 countries.

3. People from other countries learn English for ______.

A. passing exams
B. business and traveling
C. reading English books, enjoying English music or films
D. both B and C

4. Even if people in Japan and Korea use American spelling they            .

A. will speak the same as Americans
B. may not sound like Americans
C. will speak British English
D. will speak English much better

5. Which answer best describes the passage?

A. A First Language in the World
B. A Second Language in the World
C. English Around the World
D. A useful language

    In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens, Greece. From then on, many countries
had successfully held the Olympics, such as England, France, Germany, Canada, the U.S.A., Spain and
Australia. After more than a hundred years, the Games returned to its hometown in the year of 2004.
When a country hosted the Olympic Games, they always made an emblem (會徽). The emblem of the
Athens 2004 Olympic Games was a white circle of olive branches (橄欖枝) in the sky.?
   In 2008, Beijing will host the Olympics. Its emblem is "Jing". It means the capital of China and it is also
like a runner or dancer. The running figure (人形) of the emblem shows the spirit (精神) of the Olympics:
Faster, higher and stronger.?

1. When was the first modern Olympic Games held??
    ___________________________________________
2. What do people make when they hold the Olympic Games??
    ___________________________________________
3. Does the character (圖案) of "Jing" mean the capital of China?
    ___________________________________________
4. What's the spirit of the Olympic Games??
     __________________________________________
5. How many golden medals (金牌) did China get in 2008 Olympic Games?
     __________________________________________