In Britain, Australia, Canada and a few other English-speaking countries, people don't stop celebrating when Christmas Day is over. They also celebrate the following day, known as Boxing Day. It is a popular day for giving additional（另外的）gifts. It has been celebrated for so long, but nobody exactly knows how it started.
Some people believe Boxing Day began in the Middle Ages. In those days: in some special places there were special collection boxes where people threw money for the poor.
The day after Christmas the boxes were opened and the money was counted. Then the money went to helping the poor in the area.
Others believe Boxing Day started about 300 years ago when some rich people had Christmas feasts (盛宴). They offered lots of food to their guests. Because many servants (仆人）were needed to make and serve the food, they could not celebrate Christmas with their families. To thank them, the rich people would put food into boxes for their servants to take home.
Now Boxing Day has become a public holiday in some countries. Some people spend the day boxing up old or unwanted things and donating（捐赠）them to the poor. Many people are active in helping service organizations(组织)like the Red Cross.
No matter how Boxing Day got its start, it's a wonderful time to donate things or give small gifts to people. By doing so, you cam make someone's holiday much happier.
1.From the first paragraph we know that Boxing Day ___________.
A.has a long history B.is before Christmas Day
C.is celebrated in only three countries D.is the day for buying gifts
2.In the Middle Ages people put ____________into the boxes.
A.unwanted things B.food C.old things D.money
3.What did the servants mainly do on Christmas Day?
A.They took the food home. B.They had Christmas feasts.
C.They made and served the food. D.They celebrated with their families
4.Today Boxing Day is a time ___________.
A.to thank the rid people B.to make the guests happy
C.to give people help or small gifts D.to remember the old days
5.What's the best title(题目) for the passage?
A.Christmas Day B.Boxing Day C.The Red Cross D.The Middle Ages
Yun Siqi from Beijing is a 19-year-old young pianist（钢琴家). He started to learn the piano at age 4 and it has been his favourite hobby since then. Before that, he often heard his elder sister playing the violin and he loved the classical music she played. "I wanted to beat her in something and I chose the piano," Yun said.
At 4, several minutes of practice a day was enough. As Yum grew up, at ages 7 and 8, he had to practise for four hours a day. The time kept going up after Yun was 12. Now, he needs to practise at least seven hours every day. He sleeps for only five to six hours a day, but he is still full of energy(活力).
Yun never got tired of the piano. In fact, he had great fun playing it. "Music is my special luck, and it is a real enjoyment to be with it every day," he said.
Yun worked hard and soon he stood out. From 2013 to now, Yun shone at different music festivals, concerts and competitions. Yun said successes or failures（失败）were not important and they would not affect his understanding of music or his plan for the future. "If you lose, think carefully about it, and if you win, just work harder," the young pianist said "I still need to practise more to become better, to bring out the real beauty of classical music through the piano. It may take a lifetime."
1.Yun Siqi began to learn the piano in___________.
A.2003 B.2005 C.2007 D.2009
2.Yun Siqi chose the piano because __________.
A.he was not able to play the violin
B.it was easy to learn to play the piano
C.he wanted to be better than his sister in something
D.his sister refused to play his favourite classical music
3.What does the second paragraph(段落）mainly tell us about Yun Siqi?
A.He lived a happy life at the age of 4.
B.He was not good at playing the piano.
C.He practises playing the piano very hard.
D.He doesn't have enough sleep but he is healthy.
4.The underlined word "affect" in Paragraph4 probably means "________" in Chinese.
A.允许 B.维持 C.放弃 D.影响
5.Which of the following is TRUE?
A.Yun played the piano really well.
B.Yun was tired of playing the piano.
C.Yun didn't think he needed more practice.
D.Yun said one should work harder if he lost.
Dogs can be good helpers to humans and what about monkeys? They can do a great job, too. Monkeys can help disabled（有残疾的）people live a better life just as dogs do.
Like dogs, monkeys need lots of training to be human helpers. One difference is that monkeys live longer than dogs do. This means that a monkey's "childhood" is also longer than a dog's. So it may take them four to six years before they are ready to begin training.
It's said that it is almost as much work as raising a young child!
After monkeys begin training, they usually take about a year to learn enough tasks to be good helpers. One important thing that they need to learn is how to follow command (命令).
For example, if a person wants to have the lights turned on, he or she might give the command "sun". As the monkeys get better at completing their tasks, they learn new and more difficult ones. Some monkeys can even learn how to use a computer!
1.Both dogs and monkeys need lots of training before they can help humans.
A.Right.
B.Wrong
2.Dogs are ready to begin training when they are 4 to 6 years old.
A.Right.
B.Wrong
3.It usually takes monkeys about a year to learn how to become good human helpers.
A.Right.
B.Wrong
4.If a person gives the command "sun", he might want the monkey to turn on the lights.
A.Right.
B.Wrong
5.All monkeys can learn how to use computers.
A.Right.
B.Wrong
Grandma Kong is from the western countryside of China. She has spent nearly _______years adopting(收养）and raising abandoned（被遗弃的）children. She gives them food to eat and sends them to school to get an _______.
Kong first adopted an abandoned child in the 1970s. She found she couldn't stop there. Though in poor health, the kind woman _______ adopting abandoned children and raising them as her own. Over the last 48 years, she has adopted over 40 children. _______ of them have grown up and become doctors or lawyers.
It costs Kong a lot to raise so many children. There were times she couldn't put enough _______on the table. She chose to leave home to look for leftovers（残羹剩饭）in the rubbish. To her great _______, things got much better with time. Now her grown-up children help her to bring up their _______brothers and sisters.
Kong always believes that education is the best way to get out of poverty（贫穷）, _______ she makes sure that all her children go to school. She said, "I told my children that it was quite _______ for them to study hard and that it was their only chance to change their lives."
Kong's story has ________ thousands of people's hearts. Many of them say she is a great mother and a good example to follow.
1.A.thirty B.forty C.fifty
2.A.education B.answer C.exam
3.A.stops B.keeps C.regrets
4.A.None B.Some C.All
5.A.food B.water C.paper
6.A.sadness B.pity C.pleasure
7.A.younger B.elder C.taller
8.A.but B.or C.so
9.A.strange B.impossible C.necessary
10.A.separated B.touched C.protected
暑假即将开始，而新冠疫情尚未结束。假定你是李华，将在暑假组织志愿者活动。为防疫抗疫做些贡献。请根据以下提示写封信邀请你的好友李明参加。内容包括：
1、活动目的
2、活动内容：分发防疫抗疫传单及原因。捡拾废弃的口罩和原因。
3、词数80左右
参考词汇：新冠病毒COVID-19 传单 leaflet 口罩mask
Dear Li Ming,
How's it going? I'm writing to_____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm looking forward to your joining.
Yours,
Li Hua
You're probably used to getting takeaway delivered to your home these days. But the first pizza delivery in history took place nearly 150 years 1. in Italy.
In 1878, Margherita became the first queen of Italy. Gradually, the queen got tired 2. eating "fancy" meals and wanted to eat "common" food. Esposito, the most famous pizza chef at that time, was asked to deliver a pizza to the queen. He 3.(quick) prepared a pizza with red tomatoes, white cheese and green basil, which stood for the colors of Italy's new 4.(nation) flag. As soon as the pizza was out of the oven, he delivered it to the queen 5.(him). The queen had never eaten pizza before and said it was one of the 6.(good) things she'd ever eaten. Esposito named the pizza after the queen, and it has been served in nearly every pizza restaurant in the world ever since;
Today, pizza is still popular with people around the world. In 1973, US Domino's Pizza company promised 7.(take) pizzas to customers in "30 minutes or less". If the pizza was late, it would be free. Another US pizza company offers a "Hot-N-Ready" pizza at all its 8.(store).
These pizzas 9.(cook) around the clock so that there are always fresh pizzas available. Go to the store, paying $6 10. you'll walk out with a fresh pizza with no waiting time.
