閱讀理解

　　Almost all people like flowers．Some people like flowers because of their smells, shapes, colors and so on．Others like flowers because they think different flowers mean different things．Flowers have their own language．For example, red roses mean “l(fā)ove” and sunflowers mean “l(fā)oyalty(忠誠)”．So people in more than 100 countries have chosen their own national flowers which say something about their countries' spirit．In 1994, China talked about choosing a national flower．Some people liked the peony(牡丹)but others liked the plum blossom(梅花)．They couldn't agree with each other．So it has not been decided yet．

　　People like to buy different flowers in different seasons．Where do all the beautiful flowers in shops come from? They may come from far away, so their price is higher．

　　a．Farmers grow flowers in their fields．

　　b．Planes or trains or buses take the flowers to different places．

　　c．Flower shopkeepers buy flowers from the flower markets．They look after the flowers and throw away the broken or bad ones．They cut the flowers to make them more beautiful．

　　d．You go to buy the flowers in the shops．When you buy a flower, you're paying lots of people：the farmer, the driver of the plane or train or bus, the seller in the flower market and the flower shopkeeper．

　　So you'd better keep your flowers from far away for a long time．But how? Why not dry them? It's easy! Sand drying is a way．Dry, clean sand is one of the oldest things for drying flowers．And it's one of the cheapest．

　　·Fill a box half-way with sand．

　　·Put the flowers on top of the sand．

　　·Put the box in a warm, dry place．

　　·Leave the flowers there for one to three weeks．

　　·Take them out and they will be dry．

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閱讀理解

　　One day, a farmer was walking along a road with his son Thomas．The father said, “Look! There's a horseshoe, pick it up and put it in your bag．” Thomas said, “It isn't worth the trouble．” His father said nothing but he picked it up himself．When they got to a nearby town, they had a rest．There the farmer sold the horseshoe and with the few pennies he bought some cherries(櫻桃)．

　　The father and the son continued their way．The sun was well up in the sky, and there wasn't a house or even a tree where they could have a rest．Thomas felt too thirsty to walk on．At this time, his father dropped a cherry on the ground and Thomas picked it up quickly and ate it．After a while, his father dropped another cherry and once again, his son lost no time in picking it up and putting it in his mouth．

　　And so they went on．The old farmer dropped the cherries and the son picked them up．When Thomas had eaten up all the cherries, his father said to him, “My dear son, if you had bent(彎腰)down early to pick up that horseshoe, it would not have been necessary for you to bend so many times for the cherries．Always remember the lesson that he who does not worry about the little things will find that he cannot do the great things．”

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閱讀理解

　　This is a song millions of Americans will hear this New Year's Eve．It is called Auld Lang Syne(《友誼地久天長》)．It is the traditional music played during the New Year's celebration．Auld Lang Syne is an old Scottish poem．It tells about the need to remember old friends．

　　The words “auld lang syen” mean “old long since”．No one knows who wrote the poem(詩)first．However, a version(版本)by Scottish poet Robert Bums was published(出版)in 1796．The words and music we know today first appeared in a songbook three years later．

　　The song is played in the United States mainly on New Year's Eve．The version you are hearing today is by the Washington Saxophone Quarter．As we end our program with Auld Lang Syne, I would like to wish all our radio friends a very Happy New Year! This is Buddy Thomas．

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閱讀理解

　　Millie is a little fat．She wants to join a body club in the summer holiday．She has found some information about a body club．

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