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Do you know how children in other countries spend their schooldays and what kind of games they always play?
Children in Brazil
| School | The school year runs from February to December. Children attend (上学) school for about four hours in the morning or the afternoon. About a quarter of children in Brazil do not attend school at all. |
| Play | Football is the most popular sport. Brazil’s beautiful beaches also make swimming and volleyball popular. |
| Family | Brazilian families are often large. Nearly a third of the population is under eighteen! |
Children in France
| School | The school day begins from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, with a two-hour lunch break. Schools close on Wednesday and Sunday, and are closed for a half day on Saturday. |
| Play | Football, bicycling and tennis are favorite sports in France. In some areas, pelote, a traditional ball game, is also very popular. |
| Family | Most French mothers work. The majority of preschool (幼儿园) children attend day care centres known as crèches. France has laws about naming children and all names have to be chosen from an official list. |
Children in Japan
| School | Schools in Japan are very competitive (竞争的). Even pre-schoolers may attend “cramming (填鸭式教学的) schools” to prepare for exams. There is a summer break about six weeks, but the children have homework during this time. |
| Play | Comic books have been popular in Japan since the 1700s. Comics now account for about 40% of all published materials in Japan. Kite flying is enjoyed by people of every age. |
| Family | Homes in Japan are small on average. The typical family of four lives in five small rooms. Most fathers in Japan work long hours. As a result, some children only see their fathers on weekends or holidays. |
1.What kind of sport is very popular in France?
① Kite flying. ② Bicycling. ③ Football. ④ Pelote.
A.②③④ B.①②③
C.①④ D.①②③④
2.What is a crèche in France?
A.Places with beautiful beaches.
B.The name of the place where French mothers work.
C.A day care centre for preschool children.
D.Cramming schools to improve children’s exam results.
3.In Japan, many children ________.
A.like to read comic books B.write their names on an official list
C.only see their fathers on weekdays D.do not attend school
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When I was sixteen years old，I made my first visit to the United States.It wasn’t the first time I had been abroad.Like most English children，I learned French at school.And I had often been to France，so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn’t understand English.But when I went to America，I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problems.
How wrong I was！The misunderstanding began at the airport.I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Danny a call and tell her that I had arrived.A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me.
“Yes，” I said，“I want to give my friend a ring.”
“Well，that’s nice，” he said，“Are you getting married？But aren’t you a bit young？”
“Who is talking about marriage？” I replied.“I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I’ve arrived.Can you tell me where there is a phone box？”
“Oh！” he said，“There is a phone downstairs.”
When at last we met，Danny explained the misunderstanding to me.
“Don’t worry，” she said to me，“I had so many difficulties at first.There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from British.You’ll soon get used to all the funny things they say.Most of the time，British and American people understand each other！”
1.Where was the writer from?
A.He was from America.
B.He was from France.
C.He was from England.
D.He was from China.
2.The writer thought in America.
A.he wouldn’t have any language difficulties
B.he would not understand the Americans
C.the Americans might not understand him
D.he would have difficulties at the airport
3.From the passage，we can see that “give somebody a ring” .
A.means the same in America as in England
B.means “call somebody” to the old man
C.means “be going to get married with somebody”
D.has two different meanings in America and in England
4.In the last paragraph the underlined word “they” refers to .
A.the old man and the boy
B.the Americans
C.the British
D.the French
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Earthquakes are something that people fear. There are some places that have few or no earthquakes. Some places in the world, however, have them regularly. Countries that have a lot of earthquakes are usually quite mountainous.
The most talked about earthquake in the United States was in San Francisco in 1906. Over 700 people died in it. The strongest one in North America was in1964. It happened in Alaska.
Strong earthquakes are not always the ones that kill the most people. In 1755, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was felt in Portugal. Around 2,000 people died.
In 1923, a very strong earthquake hit Tokyo, Yokohama area of Japan. A hundred and forty thousand people died. Most of them died in fires which followed the earthquake.
One of the worst earthquakes ever was in China in 1976. It killed a large number of people. The worst earthquake ever reported was also in China, in which 830, 000 people were killed. This earthquake happened in 1556.
Earthquakes worry people a lot. The reason is that we often do not know when they are coming. People cannot prepare for them.
1.We can infer from the passage that .
A.people are not afraid of earthquakes
B.only strong earthquakes kill a large number of people
C.earthquakes happen only in a few places along the coast
D.a large number of earthquakes often happen next to mountains
2.How many people died in the earthquake which happened in Portugal in 1755?
A.500. B.About 2,000.
C.830,000. D.140,000.
3.When and where was the worst earthquake ever reported?
A.1964 ; Alaska. B.1923; Japan.
C.1556; China. D.1976; China.
4.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
A.Earthquakes can cause fires.
B.Earthquakes often come unexpectedly.
C.The stronger the earthquake is, the more are killed.
D.People still don’t know when an earthquake will come.
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My journey home from school is nothing special. The train’s always busy but I usually find a seat and start reading or texting my friends, making sure, like everyone else, not to look at other people.
But last Tuesday was different. I was happily listening to some new music when the train suddenly stopped. This wasn’t unusual and I didn’t think anything of it. Then after about five minutes, I noticed people were starting to get a bit angry. Fifteen minutes later, people started getting angrier. The longer the train stood still, the angrier people became until finally the announcement came: “We are sorry to announce that this train is delayed (延误).”
That seemed to calm people down and so we all went back to what we were doing before, but soon there was another announcement: we were going to be there for a long time--- a train had broken down in front of us. There was a loud sigh throughout the carriage but then something unexpected happened: complete strangers started talking to each other. I started chatting to a couple of young tourists sitting opposite me. They were from Spain and they were travelling around the UK so I recommended some places they should visit. Next, I really surprised myself by starting a conversation with a businesswoman. She was going to take three months off work to climb Qomolangma. It was great talking to her. Then I decided to get up and go for a walk down the train. I met a woman who had been a student at my school seven years before and knew lots of my teachers.
While we were talking, we heard there was a patient in another part of the train who needed help, and the woman from my school jumped into action. It turned out she was a nurse, and when she came back she was welcome as a hero.
Then, after two and a half hours, we started moving again. Everyone clapped and cheered and some people, complete strangers three hours before, even hugged. I’ll never forget the day the train stopped and people started talking.
1.How did the author react when the train suddenly stopped?
A.He paid no attention to it. B.He let out a long deep sigh.
C.He turned to the other passengers. D.He got angry at once.
2.Why did the train stop?
A.It broke down. B.A previous train stopped working.
C.The track was under repair. D.It ran out of gas.
3.What did the author talk about with the nurse?
A.Some famous tourist spots. B.Their former teachers.
C.Some stories of businesswomen. D.Their mountain-climbing experience.
4.Why did the author consider the journey unforgettable?
A.He saved a person’s life on the train. B.He met some classmates during the trip.
C.Talking to strangers made him happy. D.It was the first time he had met with an accident.
），并在其下面写出该加的词。
）划掉。
），并在其下面写出该加的词。
）划掉。