Height is just one of the features your genes (基因) decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes provide you a height that usually lands somewhere between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall, too. But if you have questions about how tall you’re going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find them out.

But genes don’t decide everything. For example, eating an unhealthy diet can keep you from growing to your full potential (潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected height.

It’s natural that you’re wondering how fast you should grow. There’s no perfect or right answer. Generally speaking, kids grow about 6 cm a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty .

Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years. 2 cm here and 3 cm there make a little difference to the height you’re at now. How have you been growing up to this height？What other changes may your body be going through？

Don’t be amazed if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt (高峰) during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later — between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys.

You’ll usually begin to notice that you’re growing faster about a year after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.

1.If you want to know how tall you should grow, _______.

A. you should have enough exercise

B. you can ask doctors for help

C. you should take some special medicine

D. you can record your growth during puberty

2.The Chinese for the word “ puberty ” is _______.

A. 童年时期    B. 婴幼儿时期

C. 习惯养成期D. 生长发育期

3.This passage is mainly about ______.

A. how the genes work in your body

B. how your parents’ height influence you

C. how you look like your parents

D. how you grow to a certain height

4.After reading this passage, we can explain ______.

A. how good it is to be a doctor

B. how much sleep time we need

C. why genes can’t decide everything

D. what healthy diet is

5.Which is NOT mentioned in the passage？

A. Your height most probably depends on how tall your parents are.

B. Girls’ age for starting puberty is usually earlier than that for boys’.

C. The features showing the first changes of puberty between boys and girls are different.

D. You may be amazed sometimes when you grow too fast.

Our village carpenter (木匠) , John, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size for the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for the job.

My wife said to me quietly,“That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said, in a loud voice,“It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it？”

“I’ll decide about that when I see the bill. ”I said.

John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:

One dining table10 November, 1998

Cost of wood$17. 00

Paint$1. 50

Work, 8 hours ( $1 an hour )$8. 00

Total$36. 50

When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It’s been a nice day, hasn’t it？Quite sunny. ”

“Yes. ”I said. “ I’m glad it’s only the tenth of November. ”

“Me, too. ”said John. “You wait — it’ll be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”

“Yes,colder — and more expensive! A dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30, won’t it, John？”

John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes？I gave his bill back to him.

“If there isn’t too much trouble, John,” I said,“please add it up again. You can forget the date…”

I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it.

1.Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill？

A. Because he didn’t want the writer to go through the bill carefully.

B. Because it was really a fine day.

C. Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully.

D. Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like.

2.The writer thought John would ask for _______ if he made a dining table on the last day of November.

A. $20. 00B. $46. 50

C. $56. 50D. $26. 50

3.When the writer gave John the money, he was happy because _______.

A. he got what he should get for his work

B. he got much more money for his work

C. he got the money easily

D. he didn’t have to add up the costs again

4.From the story we know that ______.

A. John made a mistake in the bill

B. John tried to fool the writer in order to get more money for his work

C. John had written out the bill before the writer got home

D．John still wanted to get $36.50 for his work in the end

5.What do you think of the writer？ He is ______.

A. honestB. clever

C. foolishD. afraid

A young man went to visit a wise man living deep in the mountain for the wisdom of life.

“Excuse me! Could you please tell me what the most           day in our lives is？Is it the day when we were born or the day we           ？Is it the day when we fall in love or the day we succeed？”The young man asked.

“           The most important day in our lives is today. ”The wise man replied calmly.

“Why？”The young man felt more than           . “Is it because there is a moving event taking place today？”

“No. Nothing has happened today. ”

“Is it because of my visit？”

“Even if nobody visited me today, today is           very important because today is the only wealth we have. No matter how memorable yesterday is, it has gone by like a ship going down into the sea; no matter how bright tomorrow may be, it is yet to come; but no matter how common today is, it is           our control (控制). ”

The young man still wanted to ask something, while the wise man           him and said, “When we are talking about the meaning of today, we have           a lot of it. ”

The young man nodded and then went down the mountain.

Actually, today is the only           we have. So, what we should do now is to           yesterday and tomorrow and catch fast today!

1.A. importantB. necessaryC. comfortable   D. funny

2.A. missB. dieC. growD. start

3.A. NothingB. NoneC. No oneD. Neither

4.A. awful    B. pleasedC. surprisedD. excited

5.A. yetB. alreadyC. everD. still

6.A. forB. underC. onD. with

7.A. stoppedB. refusedC. encouraged   D. ordered

8.A. treasuredB. handedC. wasted    D. avoided

9.A. excuseB. wayC. chance    D. plan

10.A. forgetB. rememberC. callD. treat

  Early in the morning, at noon, or in the evening in big cities and in the countryside, all over the United States, you can see Americans running — men and women, young and old. People run           — along the beaches of California,             Central Park in New York, down quiet streets in small towns or at the gym. Some people even run in             living rooms.

Running wasn’t so popular in the past. In the 1960s, runners were mostly athletes and healthy strong people. When people saw a runner, they used             ,“Hey, what’s the hurry for？”or they might say to             ,“Is he crazy？”At that time, women almost never ran. If they did, they might be laughed at. But today all these have            Men and women of all             enjoy running.

Doctors say many of the health problems in the United States             these bad habits: eating too much, smoking cigarettes, and taking             exercise. Doctors tell us,“Eat less, don’t smoke, and exercise more. ”Running is a good exercise             it helps build strong hearts and lungs. It also helps most people lose weight.

1.A. anywhere    B. somewhere    C. everywhere    D. nowhere

2.A. amongB. throughC. withD. on

3.A. ourB. yourC. hisD. their

4.A. to askingB. to speakC. to speaking    D. to ask

5.A. themB. themselves    C. theirD. they

6.A. changedB. stoppedC. workedD. done

7.A. peopleB. citiesC. villagesD. ages

8.A. come fromB. look forC. care forD. think of

9.A. fewB. manyC. muchD. little

10.A. howB. where    C. becauseD. until

— What would you like _______ your afternoon tea？

— Just a cup of coffee _______ some sugar and milk.

A. of; with    B. of; without

C. for; withD. for; without

— The cars made in Germany are more expensive than ______ made in Japan.

— Yes, you are right. But they’re much better.

A. thoseB. thatC. onesD. it

When Peter comes, please ask him to leave a _______.

A. noticeB. message

C. sentenceD. information

— Where are you going to stay when you get to Shanghai？

— I may live _______ in a hotel _______ in a friend’s house.

A. both; andB. either; or

C. neither; norD. not only; but also

— The shoes are very nice. I’ll take them.

— You’d better ______ first. I’m afraid the size is a bit small for you.

A. pay for themB. take them off

C. put them onD. try them on

The box was _____ than I had expected. I was out of breath when I got home.

A. more heavier    B. much heavier

C. little heavierD. very heavier