What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A doctor? How about an ice-cream taster?
Yes, there really is a job where you can get paid to taste ice cream. Just ask John Harrison, an “Official Taste Tester” for the past 2l years. Harrison’s job has been responsible for approving（批準）large numbers of the sweet ice cream – as well as for developing over 15 flavors（味道）.
Some people think that it would be easy to do this job; after all, you just have to like ice cream, right? No – there’s more to the job than that, says Harrison, who has a degree in chemistry. He points out that a dairy or food-science degree would be very useful to someone wanting a job in this “cool field”.
In a typical morning on the job, Harrison tastes and grades 60 ice-cream samples. He lets the ice cream warm up to about 12^oF. Harrison explains, “You get more flavor from warmer ice cream, which is why some kids like to stir it, creating ice-cream soup.”
While the ice cream warms up, Harrison looks over the samples and grades each one on its appearance. “Tasting begins with the eyes,” he explains. He checks to see if the ice cream is attractive and asks himself, “Does the product have the colour expected from that flavor?” Next it’s time to taste!
Continuing to think up new ideas, try out new flavors and test samples from so many kinds of ice cream each day keeps Harrison busy but happy – working at one cool job.
【小題1】What is John Harrison’s job?

What would you do if a stranger gave you some medicine and said it would keep you slim or help you do well in exams? Would you take it?
Students at Shenzhen Luohu Foreign Language Middle School have learned to keep themselves safe by saying “no”. In fact, what those strangers want to give them are drugs（毒品）. Drugs are dangerous to your health!
“Because teens don’t know much about drugs, they might want to try them.” said Zhang Dongsheng, the director of Shenzhen Drug Control Office.
Now, many schools arrange（安排）courses or organize some activities to help students know about drugs.
Liang, 16, was a good student before trying drugs. One day, some old friends told him it would be fun. After taking drugs only once, he found it very hard to stop. Liang began to spend all his time and money on drugs. Soon, he stopped going to school and started stealing（偷竊）. In the end, he was put in prison.
In China, taking drugs is becoming a big problem for teens. According to a survey, about one million people in China were using illegal（違法）drugs last year, and 72% of them were young people. Worse still, there are about 10,000 drug users under 16 now.
Zhang has some good advice on staying clean. He said, “Drugs are dangerous. Never try them, even if you’re curious! It is the most important for you to keep safe and healthy.”
【小題1】 Which statement is right about drugs?

Do you know why you sleep? You may think it’s because you’re tired. Or perhaps you’ve been told sleep is good for you. Yet no one knows exactly why or how people sleep.

Until the early 1950s, most scientists thought the body and brain rested during sleep. Then a scientist watched people sleep. He noticed that during periods of between 5 and 30 minutes each, sleepers’ eyes made rapid movements, as if they were watching something. He called these periods REM sleep, for Rapid Eye Movement. Periods when sleepers’ eyes did not move he called non-REM sleep.

Whenever the scientist woke people during REM sleep, they were having vivid dreams. Measurements showed that sleepers’ pulses（脈搏）went up quickly during REM sleep. Their breathing, heartbeat, and the blood going to the brain also increased. Far from being a time of rest, REM sleep is a time when the body is hard at work. Scientists still don’t know the reason for this. Some believe REM sleep makes learning easier. Babies spend a lot of time in REM sleep. Because of this, some scientists believe that REM sleep helps the brain grow. Others think REM sleep is a time for the brain to empty the day’s garbage.

One thing all the scientists agree on is that sleep is necessary. Without enough sleep, people make mistakes. Most major car accidents happen during the early morning hours, when people are sleepiest.

1.During REM sleep, a person’s breathing and heartbeat ________.

A．stop   B．increase     C．decrease   D．stay the same

2.Which word in paragraph（段落）3 means “colorful and lively”?

A．easier         B．empty         C．vivid   D．quickly

3.Which paragraph tells what happens when people don’t get enough sleep?

A．1         B．2         C．3         D．4

4.What is the main idea of the article?

A．REM sleep helps the brain grow.

B．REM sleep has been watched and recorded by scientists.

C．REM sleep is a time to empty the day’s garbage.

D．REM sleep is an active time when the body is hard at work.

5.You can decide from the article that REM sleep ________.

A．has a restful effect on people

B．can be avoided with lots of sleep

C．is something that all people experience

D．is something that all scientists agree on

Do you want to know something about children in Africa? What do they do for fun every day? Find out here:
Education
School is expensive for many African children. Lots of families can’t afford school uniforms or exercise books even though they don’t have to pay for school.
For those lucky enough to go to school, they have a lot to learn. Some take two language classes: English or French, and their first languages. There is also math, science, history and geography. Chores take up much of children’s time after school. They have to get water and firewood for the family every day. Also there’s cleaning, washing and helping Mum with the meal.
Daily fun
It’s not all work and no play. Sports are very popular. Children can make goals with twigs(嫩枝) and their own footballs with plastic and bits of string(繩子).They play in the country and the streets of old towns. There’re many football teams for teenagers in Africa.
Internet
It’s really expensive to get on the Internet. To surf the net for 20 hours costs 600yuan.This is more than the average（平均的） monthly pay per person.
Egypt and South Africa are the top two users of the Internet in Africa. All of the capital cities there can get on the Internet.
Some schools offer computer lessons but few students can enjoy computer fun at home.
【小題1】The underlined word “Chores” probably means______.