Enjoyable Family Picnics
Going for a picnic is great at any age． It can either be a simple lunch in the park or a family barbecue at the beach． Whether with little kids or just as a romantic afternoon date， picnics can be fun and relaxing． Just remember to prepare．
Check the weather forecast．1. Picnics are never much fun when it gets too hot or starts to rain． If it is likely to rain， but you still make up your mind to go， think about bringing umbrellas．
Pick a location suitable for your family's needs． Different locations are for different types of picnics．2. Choose one with a playground for them， and perhaps some bathrooms nearby． Do you want a quiet afternoon to read， or a park with a big field to play soccer on？
3. Food is the most important part of a picnic， so don't forget it! Remember to bring any utensils （器皿） you might need， as well as napkins and a garbage bag to clean up afterwards． Bring some books， balls or anything else that could be fun． Finally， don't forget your camera．
Other ideas． If it gets hot in the afternoon， why not try a morning picnic to enjoy the songs of birds in the fresh morning air？4. It can be fun to have a picnic in your backyard． If you're going on a hike， pack a lunch and turn it into a picnic． But remember to bring extra water!
Remember to prepare， and you'll soon be enjoying picnics wherever you are． But keep in mind that not everything always go as planned．5.．
A． What to bring．
B． Do you have little kids？
C． Just learn to laugh and enjoy it anyway．
D． Another idea is to stay at home．
E． Not everybody likes eating outside．
F． It may seem obvious but it's often forgotten．
G． Do you need big trees to keep the heat off on a sunny day？
My challenge for you is this： to read a book for 15minutes every single day for a month．
Let me explain a bit， by telling you where the challenge came from． I have many things in common with my dad， like music taste and sense of humor， but sadly reading isn't one of them． I can happily spend a whole day with a book， but my dad can't read a book for longer than about 5 minutes． He reads emails， websites and papers for work， but not books． He's busy， so I think sitting down to read for just 15minutes a day is a good way to relax and to introduce him to reading．
My dad is not the only person who avoids books． I know lots of people would rather relax on their computers or in front of the TV． Everyone is different and has their own interests， but I think there are lots of benefits to reading， which screen﹣based activities don't have．
Firstly， it's better for your eyes． Looking at screens can be very stressful for your eye muscles， and clearly you should avoid looking at screens for an hour before bed， to get a good night's sleep．
One thing I personally love reading， is being transported to another world﹣I often forget the time or things around me! Reading is a great way to switch off before you go to bed， because you think more about the world of the book， rather than the real world， so you can truly relax． I know you can be transported to a different world in a film or a TV show， but I think books do it better．
I also enjoy hearing what people are doing and finding out what they think． Reading gives me the chance to get to know hundreds of new people! It also teaches you to see things from other people's point of view， and understand other people's decisions or opinions． With a book， you can hear everything a character is thinking or feeling﹣you really can be inside someone else's head!
So give it a go! Take 15 minutes when you are waking up， going to bed， eating lunch， or having a coffee． If you read a lot， why not try 15 minutes of an English book， or pass the challenge on to someone else？ Good luck， and happy reading!
1.The author mentions his father in the text to show ．
A. his father is busy
B. reading is important
C. his father likes reading
D. many people have no habit of reading
2.The author writes the text mainly basing on ．
A. his personal experience
B. some scientific experiments
C. his father's personal advice
D. knowledge from books
3.The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 5 refers to ．
A. helping readers sleep well
B. making readers feel relaxed
C. transporting readers to a different world
D. reminding readers of the real world
4.What is the author's attitude to reading？
A. Negative．
B. Uncertain．
C. Supportive．
D. Doubtful．
An old English saying says， "Laughter is the best medicine．" One person who certainly would have agreed with this is Norman Cousins．
Norman Cousins worked for a magazine called Saturday Review for almost forty years． He also wrote articles about peace， traveling to many different countries to share his ideas．
In the 1960s， after returning to the United States from a busy and tiring trip to Europe， Mr． Cousins got sick． In less than a week after he got back， he could not stand． Every move that he made was painful． He was not able to sleep at night． The doctors told Mr． Cousins that they did not know how to cure his problem and he might never get over the illness． Mr． Cousins， however， refused to give up hope．
Mr． Cousins thought the illness could be caused by unhappy thoughts． He did not want to take medicine to cure himself． Instead， he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness．
He began to experiment on himself while still in the hospital by watching comedy shows on television． Mr． Cousins quickly found that ten minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of sleep without pain at night．
Deciding that the doctors could not help him， Mr． Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter． For eight days， Mr． Cousins rested in the hotel room watching comedy shows on television， reading funny books， and sleeping whenever he felt tired． Within three weeks， he felt well enough to have a holiday to Puerto Rico， where he began running on the beach for exercise． After a few months， Ms． Cousins was able to carry on his work． He had laughed himself back to health．
1.The text is mainly about ．
A. a funny person
B. an amazing life
C. an interesting cure
D. a medical experiment
2.How did the doctors respond to Mr． Cousins' illness？
A. They promised to cure him．
B. They didn't think he was really sick．
C. They told him not to give up hope．
D. They said they were unable to help him．
3.Mr． Cousins thought that he could be cured by ．
A. thinking happily and laughing
B. writing comedies and being positive
C. taking a holiday and taking good care of himself
D. running on the beach and relaxing
A mouse looked through the hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package， and he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap． Returning to the farmyard， he warned everybody， "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken raised her head and said， "Thanks for your warning， Mr． Mouse， but why should I be bothered by a mousetrap？" The pig sympathized， but said， "Wow， Mr． Mouse， I'm sorry for you． I can tell this is a great concern to you， but it is none of my business．" The cow was busy eating grass， and said， "I am very sorry， Mr． Mouse， but I can do nothing but pray for you．" The mouse returned to the house， head down and depressed， to face the farmer's mousetrap alone．
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house﹣like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey． The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught． In the darkness， she did not see it was a snake whose tail was caught by the trap， and it bit her． The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever．
The farmer killed the chicken to make fresh chicken soup for his wife， but her sickness continued． Friends and neighbors came to visit her， and to feed them， the farmer butchered the pig． Then she died． So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow cooked to provide enough meat for all of them．
The mouse looked upon it all from his hole in the wall with great sadness．
1.What does the underlined word in the first paragraph mean？
A. Greatly amused．
B. Completely relaxed．
C. Slightly impressed．
D. Extremely shocked．
2.What can we infer from what the cow said？
A. He could do nothing to help the mouse．
B. He wanted to help the mouse but was too busy．
C. He thought the mousetrap would not harm him．
D. He felt very sorry for not being able to help the mouse．
3.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage？
A. Stupid animals
B. The mousetrap
C. A kind mouse
D. Stories in the farmyard
The doctor thought ________ would be good for you to have a holiday.
A. this B. that C. one D. it
﹣Tom， why are you late again？
﹣Sorry， manager． My car________on my way to the office．（ ）
A. broke up B. broke down
C. broke out D. broke off
