If you live in the United States, the law says you can’t have a full-time job until you are 16 years old. At 14 or 15, you can work part-time after school or on weekends, and during summer you can work 40 hours each week. Does all that mean that if you are younger than 14, you can’t earn (賺) your own money? Of course not! Kids who are between the ages of 10 and 13 can earn money by doing lots of things.

Valerie, 11, told us that she made money by cleaning up other people’s yards. Lena, 13, makes money by knitting (織) dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors, and Reisa said she had started taking art classes and showing her work to people. People have asked her to draw pictures for them and they pay her for them. Jasmine, 13, writes articles for different magazines!

Earning is learning. By working to earn your own money, you are learning the skills you will need to succeed in life. These skills can include things like getting along with others, using technology (技術(shù)) and using your time. Some people think that asking for money is a lot easier than earning it; however, when you make your own money, you don’t have to depend on someone else. The five dollars that you earn will probably make you feel a lot better in your hand than the twenty dollars you ask for.

1.Kids can have full-time jobs at the age of _________ in the USA.

A. 17                 B. 14                 C. 13                         D. 10

2.If you are 15 years old, you can’t work _________.

A. after school        B. on weekends       C. during summer  D. on weekdays

3.Reisa makes money by _________.

A. cleaning up other people’s yards

B. drawing pictures for others

C. writing articles for different magazines

D. knitting dog sweaters and selling them to her neighbors

4.According to the passage, which of the following is Not True?

A. You are learning how to succeed by working in your teens.[

B. Kids are encouraged to live independently in the USA.

C. Earning one’s money is better than asking for money from others.

D. Kids don’t need to get along with others when making money.

5.From the passage we know that _________.

A. parents won’t let their children earn their own money

B. it’s hard for kids under 14 years old to earn money in the USA

C. kids can learn skills if they try to earn money on their own

D. if kids try to earn money, they won’t have enough time to study

 

Rivers are one of our most important natural resources(資源). Many of the world’s great cities are located on rivers, and almost every country has at least one river running through it that plays an important part in the lives of its people.
Since the beginning of history, people have used rivers for transportation. The longest one in the United States is the Mississippi. The lifeline of Egypt is the Nile. To the people of India, the Ganges is great, but it is also important for transportation; ships can travel along it for a thousand miles. Other great rivers are the Congo in Africa and the Mekong in southeastern Asia. The greatest of all for navigation（航海）, however, is the Amazon in Brazil（巴西）. It is so wide and so deep that large ships can go about two thousand miles up it.
Besides transportation, rivers give food to eat, water to drink, water for crops, and chances for fun. In order to increase the supply(供給) of water for crops, engineers sometimes build a dam (大壩)across a river and let a lake form behind the dam. Then people can use the water not only to irrigate(灌溉) their fields but also to make electricity for their homes and industries.
However, large cities and industries that are located on rivers often cause problems. As the cities grow in size and industries increase in number, the water in the rivers becomes polluted with chemicals and other materials. People are learning the importance, however, of doing more to keep their rivers clean if they want to enjoy the benefits of these natural resources.
【小題1】The greatest river for navigation is ________________.

A．the Mississippi	B．the Nile
C．the Mekong	D．the Amazon

【小題2】Which is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Many cities are located on rivers.

B．Almost every country has at least one important river.

C．The Nile is in India.

D．Rivers play an important part in the lives of people.

【小題3】When rivers are dammed, people use the water for __________.

A．keeping the rivers clean

B．making electricity

C．washing clothes

D．irrigation and the production of electricity

【小題4】Most water in rivers is polluted with ___________.

A．people’s drinking water too much

B．people’s swimming in the river too much

C．chemicals and other materials

D．people’s building a dam across a river

【小題5】The best title for the passage is _____________.

A．The Importance of Rivers	B．Rivers in Cities
C．Transportation	D．Natural Resources

How do you get across a river? A bridge is the best way. In some places, there are no bridges. People use the ferry（渡船）. A ferry is a boat that takes people and cars across the river.

Both ends of a ferry look the same. The ferry never has to turn around. It docks（靠岸）at one side of the river. People and cars get on. At the other side, the ferry docks again. The people and cars get off. Other cars and people get on. And then the ferry goes back across the river.

In many places, bridges are now taking the place of ferries. In 1964, the longest bridge in the world was built in New York over Now York Bay（灣）. It is called the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. This bridge has two roads, one over the other. Each road is wide enough for six lanes（行道）of traffic.

1. ______ is the best way for people to go across the river.

   A. The bridge           B. The car        C. The ferry       D. The bus

2. We can infer that ______ according to the passage.

   A. the shortest bridge in the world was built in New York

   B. it may be faster to cross rivers on bridges than on ferries

   C. there is a bridge over every river in the United States

   D. we don’t need ferries any more

3. The main idea of the passage is that _____.

   A. the bridge is taking the place of the ferry

   B. the ferry is better than the long bridge

   C. the bridge in New York has a very long name

   D. there is no ferry in the world

4._______ can cross rivers by ferry.

   A. Only people     B. Both cars and people    C. Only cars    D. Neither people nor cars

 

 

閱讀下面短文，根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容。補(bǔ)全表格中所缺的信息。

Many kinds of birds live in the United States, but the number of the birds is becoming smaller every year. One of the leading reasons is the growing number of pet cats. By keeping your pet cats in your home, you can help give birds a better possible chance to live.

Of the 90 million pet cats in this country, about two—thirds are allowed to go outside. It is said that these cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year, as well as billions of small animals such as rabbits and field mice.

They can also bring illness to the animals that live I n people's yard(院子), further weakening the health of the natural populations.

Allowing pet cats to go outside is not just bad for birds and wildlife, it's also bad for the cats themselves. Outdoor cats can get sick very easily. They are in danger from traffic and attacks(攻擊)from other animals. In fact, outdoor cats usually don't live past the age of five, while indoor cats often live to be 17 or older.

Keep your pet cat inside! If you raise a young cat, it's your duty to let it play inside.

Problem:	The number of birds is becoming 1._____; at the same time，many pet cats are in 2.______from traffic and attacks from other animals．
Reason for the problem :	Pet cats are 3._____to go outside freely.
What to do:	People who 4.____ a young cat have the 5.____ to let it play inside．

 

Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children’s book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.

In 1954, life magazine published(刊登) a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children’s books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.
In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham.
In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策獎). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents.
He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people.
【小題1】 Doctor Seuss learned from the magazine that _______.

A．some school children could not read

B．many children’s books were interesting

C．children wanted to learn to read

D．a(chǎn) writer for children was wanted

【小題2】People like his books because the books ______.

A．a(chǎn)re cheap and easy to get

B．were written in different languages

C．a(chǎn)re easy and interesting to read

D．were written with invented words

【小題3】He wrote the book The Cat in the Hat at the age of _____.

A．50

B．53

C．56

D．87

【小題4】Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Doctor Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham with over 230 words.

B．Doctor Seuss wrote books only for children in the United States.

C．The Cat in the Hat was written only for six-year-old children.

D．His books provided education and enjoyment for Americans.

【小題5】From the text we know that Doctor Seuss __________.

A．won a Pulitzer Prize soon after his death

B．sold millions of his books himself worldwide

C．changed American children’s way of reading

D．wrote the largest number of books in the world