Two years ago, my best friend Gina was k...

    Starting high school means many changes in your life.Most teenagers look forward to the first day of high school.1. In order to make your high school life easier,you can follow these tips.

Learn all you can about your first day before the first day.Take part in some activities that are held at the school for new students to know the school better.2. Carefully look over all the  materials you receive.Be sure you know where the school's buildings are.

3. Buy the things suggested on your teachers’ supply lists and place your materials for  each class separately.

Keep up with your high school workload ( 工 作 量 ). If you find you're not doing well in a subject,make use of after-school study groups or ask your teacher to help you with your schoolwork.4.

There're more after-school activities in high school than in middle school,such as clubs,music and theater groups，student government，and sports teams.Make friends and be seen at such school activities.Join a club or other organizations to meet people and develop friendships.Ask someone in the school office about opportunities to take part in school activities if you don't know how.This is a good time to do what you like doing and an opportunity to try new things.5.

Since you'll attend more activities in high school than in middle school, you'll have to learn how to manage your time.

A.Consider private tutoring(辅导) to get you through a difficult time.

B.Who said school has to be all work and no play?

C.If parents are invited to these activities, take yours with you.

D.We should give it up if it is not important.

E.Get the things you will need for class.

F.However, they still feel a little bit nervous.

G.Why do we need to learn how to manage time?

    I began working in journalism when I was eight.It was my mother's idea.She wanted me to “make something” of myself,and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue.The crowds were there.There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union.For several hours I made myself highly visible,making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.When it was supper time,I walked back home.

“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked. “None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.” “What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.” “You just stood there? Didn't sell a single one? My God,Russell.”

Uncle Allen put in, “I've decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he  paid me a nickle(五分镍币)．It was the first nickle I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence,and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day,I told my mother I'd changed my mind.I didn't want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you'll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that,as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines.Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember.My mother, dissatisfied with my father's plain workman's life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people.But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband's people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A.He wanted to be famous in the future. B.The job was quite easy for him.

C.His mother had great hope for him. D.The competition for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother，we learn that the mother was  .

A.excited B.interested

C.ashamed D.disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A.She forced him to continue.

B.She punished him.

C.She gave him some money.

D.She changed her plan.

4.The underlined phrase “this battle”in the last paragraph refers to  .

A.the war between the boy's parents

B.the arguing between the boy and his mother

C.the quarrel between the boy and his customers

D.the fight between the boy and his father

    Science experiments are a fun way for kids to learn all about science.I will introduce a few great experiments and teach your child all about the wonders of inertia(惯性).

Coin Shoot

You'll need some coins, at least eleven, and a smooth table.Stack(堆叠) all but one of the coins on the smooth table, making sure that the “high rise” is straight. Coins with wide edges make this experiment easy to do. Flick ( 弹 ) the extra coin quickly towards the bottom of the stack so that it hits the bottom coin.The bottom coin from the stack should shoot out from under the other coins without changing the rest of the stack. With good aim and quick flicks of your finger, you should be able to shoot all of the coins out of the stack one by one. Because the inertia of the stack of coins is so great, the force from the flicked coin is not enough to make the entire stack move or fall down.

The Pencil Standing

Place a narrow piece of paper on a smooth table. Hold the paper so that most of it hangs off the table.Place a pencil on the paper so that it is standing straight.Now,slowly try to pull the paper out from under the pencil.What happens? Set up the paper and pencil again, and give the paper a fast pull. What happens to the pencil this time?

Since the still pencil wants to stay at rest, it will be against the fast movement of the paper.This means that when the paper is moved quickly out from under the pencil, the pencil remains standing straight. If the paper is moved slowly, the movement has a chance to influence the pencil, and it will fall down.

1.Which of the following is used in both of the two experiments?

A.A narrow piece of paper. B.A number of coins.

C.A smooth table. D.A new pencil.

2.What result can we get if we do the first experiment well?

A.The stack of coins fall down on the table.

B.The bottom coin is flicked out of the stack.

C.All of the coins are taken away from the table.

D.All of the coins are shot out of the stack one by one.

3.Most of the paper hangs off the table so that  .

A.we can pull it quickly B.we can take hold of it

C.it can influence the pencil D.the pencil can stand straight

4.If we pull the paper slowly out from under the pencil, the pencil will  .

A.move slowly with the paper B.stand straight on the table

C.be shot out from the table D.fall down on the table

Visit Chicago Children's Museum

In brief:

This museum offers plenty of fun hands-on activities for kids. However, this is one of the few Chicago museums not "fun for the whole family" as adults and older kids will be bored to tears.

Address: 700 East Grand Ave. (Navy Pier), Chicago

Phone: 312- 527-1000

Public transportation:

CTA bus lines # 29 (State Street ), #65 (Grand Avenue), and # 66( Chicago Avenue) all serve Navy Pier.

Parking fees:

· Monday through Thursday:  $ 20

· Friday through Sunday: $ 24

· Holidays:  $ 24

Opening hours:

· Weekdays: 10 am- 5 pm

· Weekends: 10 am- 8 pm

Entrance fees:

·Adults: $12

·Children: $12

·Seniors (65+): $11

·Children (under 5): free

Activities:

Located at one of Chicago's top tourist attractions, Navy Pier, the museum offers three floors of activities for kids, including:

·Play It Safe--all about home safety

·Inventing Lab--provides parts and instructions for creating things

·Kids Town--a playroom  recreating a Chicago neighborhood where kids can pretend to do things like shopping for groceries and driving a CTA bus

·Climbing Schooner--a three-floor climbing building

·My Museum--kids get to create various pieces of art that are "all about me"

·Skyline--kids learn about skyscrapers and design their own buildings

·Tree House Trails--a play area designed like a forest

·Waterways--water activities showing how pumps and dams work

1.How much will John (10), his parents (40) and sister (6) pay if they drive to the museum at 2 pm on Monday?

A.$ 36. B.$48. C.$ 56. D.$ 68.

2.Kids who are fond of creating works of art should choose __________.

A.Play It Safe B.Inventing Lab C.My Museum D.Skyline

3.If you go to Kids Town, you can __________.

A.go on a short trip to a forest B.buy some gifts for your friends

C.know more about pumps and dams D.experience Chicago neighborhood life

4.What can we know about Chicago Children's Museum?

A.It is a three-floor building.

B.It is not fit for adults or older kids.

C.It is the most popular museum in Chicago.

D.It is one of Chicago's top tourist attractions.

    Pete Sparks was a sensitive (敏感的) boy. So sensitive that even his hair was ticklish (怕痒的). You only had to touch his hair a little bit and he would start laughing. When this ticklish laughter started, no one could make him stop.

Pete tried everything to control his ticklishness, but nothing worked. So he began to feel sad for being different.

One day in the street, he met a special clown. The clown was very old and could hardly walk, but when he saw Pete in tears, he went to cheer him up. It didn’t take long to make Pete laugh. Later Pete told him about his ticklish problem, and he asked the clown how such an old man could carry on being a clown.

“I have no one to take my place,” said the clown. “I have a very serious job to do.” Pete looked at him, surprised. “Come, I’ll show you,” said the clown. So the clown took Pete to many hospitals full of children who were sick. As soon as they saw the clown, their faces changed completely and lit up with a smile. Their short while spent with the clown changed everything for them. That day was even more special, because in every show Pete’s laughter would end up with the kids lying on the floor, dying with laughter. When the visit came to an end, the old clown said to Pete, “Now do you see why I can’t retire (退休), even at my age?”

That was how Pete became a clown, and took the special old man’s place. From that day on, the fact that Pete was different actually made him happy, thanks to his special gift (天赋).

1.Pete wanted to change because he wanted to _____.

A.make a difference

B.just be a normal boy

C.make everyone happy

D.just be a special clown

2.The clown took Pete to the hospitals in order to _____.

A.treat his ticklishness

B.encourage him to be a clown

C.show him the meaning of his job

D.know whether Pete had told a lie

3.What does the story teach us?

A.Practice makes perfect.

B.Everyone is born useful.

C.Well begun is half done.

D.Where there is life, there is hope.