What can you do in two minutes? Cyrus Siu, 12, made a great speech in English and     the hearts of everyone.
Siu studies at Singapore International School in Hong Kong. He     the Junior high category (初中組) of the 11^th “21^st Century Cup” National High School and Primary School English Speaking Competition in Xiamen, Fujian on March 22.
His speaking skills and good English won him the top     .
Siu said his first secret to success was     many English books. He has read all the seven Harry Potter books, each four to five times. Now he is reading Steve Jobs: A Biography(《喬布斯傳》)
“These books may be     for my age, but reading helps me to learn new words,” he said.
Siu likes English-speaking movies. Super hero movies,      Iron Man(《鋼鐵俠》) and The Avengers(《復(fù)仇者聯(lián)盟》), are his favorite.
“Every boy has the dream of becoming a super hero one day. Sometimes I imagine
      to be one of the heroes and shout out the English lines(臺(tái)詞). It’s good to combine(結(jié)合) your      with learning English.
It’s also important to     an English-speaking environment for yourself. Siu talks to his classmates and teachers in English all day long at school.      his parents talk to him in Cantonese(粵語(yǔ)) at home, he still tries to answer in English.
“There is no shortcut(捷徑) to studying English. Just practice, practice and practice!”Siu said.

Reading comprehension(閱讀理解)：

　　Kate Holmes was visiting a friend, old Mrs. Sydney. Mrs. Sydney had known Kate all her life. She liked to tell Kate about mysteries(神秘故事) and see whether Kate could solve them.

　　“You are very good at solving mysteries,” she said to Kate, “but some day I'll fool you! Maybe I'll be able to fool you today. Did I ever tell you about the story of the Unknown Brother?”

　　Kate said no and listened. She liked Mrs. Sydney's stories.

　　“Well,” Mrs. Sydney said, “Jed Wright was my friend when I was a child. He ran away from home when he was very young and lived for years by doing all kinds of jobs. Finally, in 1927, he went to Michigan, where he found a copper mine(銅礦). He bought the land and ran the mine and became a very rich man.

　　“Jed never married. His parents had died years before, and his only relative was a brother.”

　　“One day Jed knew he was dying. He sent for a good friend, Dan Cole, who had worked for him for years.”

　　“Jed gave Dan two envelopes.‘This one is for you,’ he said, ‘ and please give the other one to my brother Alf. He is…’ While he was speaking, Jed died.”

　　“There were his dying wishes in Dan's envelope. It gave him Jed's mine and house. The envelope for Alf had some money and business papers in it. Dan and Alf were each to get about half of Jed's fortune(財(cái)富). They would both be rich.”.

　　“Dan had never seen Alf. He had only two clues(線索). One was an old photo that showed Alf and Jed. But it was taken on their tenth birthday, fifty years ago. The other clue was a post card from Alf. It had no address. It had been mailed in Boston the month before Jed died.”

　　“Dan went to Boston. He put an advertisement in the newspaper. It said there was good news for Alf Wright. It told where Dan was staying.”

　　“The next day, more than a hundred men came to Dan's hotel. They all said they were Alf Wright. But though he had never seen Alf, Dan was able to pick him out right away.”

　　When Mrs. Sydney finished her story, she smiled.

　　“All right, Kate,” she said. “How did he know Alf?”

　　Kate smiled too. “That's easy,” she said. “You told me how. The clue was the photo.”

　　“Yes, it was,” said Mrs. Sydney. “But it was taken when Alf and Jed were boys. How could that help?”

　　“You said it was taken when both boys were ten years old, so they were…”

　　Kate gave Mrs. Sydney the answer and she had to admit that Kate Holmes had won again.

Answer the questions(根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容回答下列問題，每題所填內(nèi)容不超過五個(gè)單詞)：

1．What made Jed Wright a rich man?

The ________ made him very rich.

2．What was in the envelope for Dan?

________________________________________________.

3．Did Dan do what Jed asked him to do?

________________________________________________.

4．What helped Dan to find Alf?

________, ________ and the advertisement.

5．What was Kate's answer to the mystery?

Kite said, “… so they were _____________________________________.”

6．Were they brothers or friends?

Kate and Mrs. Sydney were friends; Jed and Alf were brothers; Jed and ________.

Reading comprehension. 閱讀理解.

　　It is a fine Sunday morning. Li Wei and Zhang Tao want to go to the Great Wall. At about 7:00, they are getting on a bus. There are a few people in the bus. Li Wei and Zhang Tao are very happy to see the Green family are in the bus, too. They both say hello to the English couple (夫婦) and their daughter. There are two other Chinese in the bus. One is a woman. She is driving the bus. The other is a young man. He speaks good English. He is talking about the Great Wall to the Greens. And the Greens are listening to him very carefully. All the people want to see the Great Wall very much. At about 8:00 they get there.

Choose the best answer. 選擇最恰當(dāng)?shù)拇鸢? 用A, B, C或D表示, 填入括號(hào)內(nèi).

(1) A: What day is it today?

B: It's ________.

[　　]

(2) There are ________ Chinese in the bus.

[　　]

(3) The driver is a ________.

[　　]

(4) The young man is ________.

[　　]

A．listening to the Greens

B．talking to the Greens

C．driving the bus

D．selling some maps

(5) The Great Wall is in ________.

[　　]

It's over three years since I began to learn English. I am glad that I am getting on well with it.

I find English very interesting, but quite difficult. When I first started, I thought I had only to remember the new words and learn some grammar. I know little about English idioms(習(xí)語(yǔ)). I thought each English word had a word with the same meaning in Chinese. When I learned to say "I see a book on the desk", I thought the English word "see" was just like the Chinese word "kan". So one day when my teacher asked me, "What are you doing?" I answered, "I'm seeing a book." "That's wrong," the teacher said. "You don't see a book. You read a book. You can't use an English word like a Chinese one. Be sure not to make the same mistake again."

After that I began to pay more attention to the differences between Chinese and English. For example, in English we say a "high mountain", but a "tall man". In Chinese we use the same word "gao" for both. Again in English we say "take part in the sports meeting", "attend a meeting" and "join the army", while in Chinese we can use "can jia" for all the three. It's interesting, isn't it? So to study English doesn't only mean hard work, it can be great fun, too! We not only have to pay attention to pronunciation, grammar, spelling and handwriting, we also have to understand English idioms. We can learn English well only in that way!

But all this is only a beginning and I still have a long way to go. I'll try my best and work even harder than before. I must speak and listen to English more both in and out of class. I must read and write more, too. I must learn English well so that I can work well when I grow up.

1.When I first started learning English, I thought________.

A. I know some English idioms

B. I didn’t have to remember the new words and learn some grammar

C. I had only to remember the new words and learn some grammar

D. each English word couldn't find a Chinese word with the same meaning

2."I'm seeing a book" --- The writer wanted to say_________.

A. I'm looking a book        B. I'm reading a book

C. I'm looking for a book     D. I'm watching a book

3.Which is not true?

A. To study English only means hard work.

B. To pay attention to pronunciation and grammar.

C. To read and write more.

D. To have to understand English idioms.

4.We should speak and listen to English ________.

A. after class   B. after class and in class

C. in class     D. before class

5.Which is the best topic of the passage?

A. How to study English well     B. The importance of English

C. English idioms               D. Do more reading

It's over three years since I began to learn English. I am glad that I am getting on well with it.
I find English very interesting, but quite difficult. When I first started, I thought I had only to remember the new words and learn some grammar. I know little about English idioms(習(xí)語(yǔ)). I thought each English word had a word with the same meaning in Chinese. When I learned to say "I see a book on the desk", I thought the English word "see" was just like the Chinese word "kan". So one day when my teacher asked me, "What are you doing?" I answered, "I'm seeing a book." "That's wrong," the teacher said. "You don't see a book. You read a book. You can't use an English word like a Chinese one. Be sure not to make the same mistake again."
After that I began to pay more attention to the differences between Chinese and English. For example, in English we say a "high mountain", but a "tall man". In Chinese we use the same word "gao" for both. Again in English we say "take part in the sports meeting", "attend a meeting" and "join the army", while in Chinese we can use "can jia" for all the three. It's interesting, isn't it? So to study English doesn't only mean hard work, it can be great fun, too! We not only have to pay attention to pronunciation, grammar, spelling and handwriting, we also have to understand English idioms. We can learn English well only in that way!
But all this is only a beginning and I still have a long way to go. I'll try my best and work even harder than before. I must speak and listen to English more both in and out of class. I must read and write more, too. I must learn English well so that I can work well when I grow up.
【小題1】When I first started learning English, I thought________.