Weekday mornings are very busy for US middle school students. When your school doesn’t have a bus, and you live too far away to walk, you need a carpool (拼车). A carpool is a group of people sharing the responsibility (责任) of driving to school in the morning. There are usually four or five kids in a carpool and their parents take turns to drive the kids in their cars.

Someone’s car smells like wet dogs. Some kids get to eat desserts (甜点) for breakfast and some parents shout so much that all you try to do is to stay quiet and go unnoticed. When your mom or dad drives the carpool, your classmates get a close-up look at how strange your parents can be. It might be your first sociological (社会学) study and your first time to work with others.

Teamwork is really important in the carpool because nobody wants to make everyone else late. It’s a great lesson in responsibility. Imagine (想象) sitting in the car outside of a classmate’s house, watching the clock and counting the seconds. Then you start to understand how your carpool friends might feel when you are still inside the house at 7:48. You really begin to learn all your real life lessons just moments before the start of school—in the carpool.

1.What is a carpool?

A. Parents take turns to drive their kids to school.

B. Parents drive kids to schools on their way to work.

C. Kids go to school in their parents’ cars.

D. Kids drive their own cars to school.

2.What can students learn from a carpool?

A. How to drive a car.

B. How to get along with others.

C. What to do with parents.

D. Real teamwork.

3.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. If kids live far away from school, they are always late for school.

B. US children enjoy carpooling better than taking a school bus.

C. Kids can learn real life lessons in a carpool.

D. Kids often have enough time to study in a carpool.

A reader wrote to say that she was feeling left out at break because her best friend wasn’t around. Here’s our advice to her—and to all kids who feel lonely sometimes.

It’s hard when a best friend isn’t around—maybe because she moved to a different school or a different class. You may feel lonely at break or lunchtime. You want to have new friends, but how do you make them? Maybe it seems that everybody else already has their friends. But remember, there’s always room for more friends.

Start by looking around your classroom—think about which kids you’d like to play with at break. Look for chances to say hi to them, smile, and be friendly. Offer to share something or express your appreciation(欣赏)to them. Invite someone to play with you or say “Do you want to sit here?” in the lunchroom. When you’re at break, walk over to kids you want to play with and say “Hi, can I play, too?” or just join in.

If you find it difficult to do this or if you’re feeling shy, ask your teacher to help you make new friends. Teachers are usually pretty good at matching up friends. The best way to make friends is to be a friend. Be kind, be friendly, share, say nice things, offer to help—and pretty soon, you’ll have one, or two, or even more new friends.

You might still miss that special best friend. But when you see each other, you can share something you didn’t have before she left: You can introduce her to your new friends!

1. This text is written for ____________.

A. teachers          B. parents

C. students           D. visitors

2. The expression “feeling left out” means “ ____________” in Chinese.

A. 受冷落  B. 被调侃   C. 挨批评   D. 遭攻击

3.  Some kids need help from teachers to make friends because ____________.

A. they miss their old friends a lot

B. they have no time to stay with others

C. teachers know who wants a new friend

D. they are shy or not good at making friends

完形填空   先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后在每小题所给的四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项

Robby was 11 years old when his mother sent him to have his first piano lesson. I always think that a good learner should begin at his         age, but Robby said that it had always been his mother’s dream to hear him play the piano. So I       him as a student.

Robby didn’t have a basic       of music, but he tried very hard. However, he continued and at the end of each weekly lesson he’d always say, “My mom is going to hear me play some day.”But it seemed       . He didn’t have a natural ability for music.

One day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. He told me that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons, but he was still       .

He asked if he could take part in my concert (音乐会) and I       .

The night of the concert came. The concert hall was             with parents, friends and relatives. The concert was going well. Then, Robby came on stage (舞台). Loudly and clearly he said that he had chosen Mozart’s Concerto No 21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next.  His         danced on the keys.

He played so well that everyone was on his feet, clapping (鼓掌) excitedly. In tears (眼泪), I ran up on stage, “Oh, Robby! How could you do it?”

“Well, Miss Hondorf, remember I told you my mom was sick? Well, the fact is that she had a serious blood disease and passed away this morning. And well… she was born       , so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make       special and show her I could do it! My mother’s dream came true at last.”

1.A. bigger      B. larger        C. later         D. earlier

2.A. received    B. protected     C. knew          D. accepted

3.A. education   B. sense        C. information   D. knowledge

4.A. harmless    B. helpless      C. hopeless     D. meaningless

5.A. writing     B. practising  C. singing      D. talking

6.A. agreed       B. disliked      C. expected     D. decided

7.A. covered      B. bored         C. filled       D. enjoyed

8.A. fingers      B. feet          C. voice        D. legs

9.A. blind        B. deaf          C. strong       D. tiny

10.A. her        B. me           C. it            D. us

  — Bill, can I get you anything to drink?

— __________.

A. You are welcome

B. No problem

C. It doesn’t matter

D. I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee

— Mrs. Liu, can I pass the final exam if I start working hard from now on?

— Of course. __________.

A. Better late than never

B. Practice makes perfect

C. Actions speak louder than words

D. Many hands make light work

— The secretary’s already on the way to the company, __________ she?

— __________. She was badly hurt in the accident and sent to the hospital.

A. hasn’t; Yes  B. hasn’t; No

C. isn’t; Yes   D. isn’t; No

Not only the twins but also their cousin __________ Japan for half a year, but __________ of   them can speak Japanese.

A. has gone to; either   B. has been to; either

C. has been in; none     D. have been in; none

A lot of money __________ at the charity show, but the cost of living __________ a lot, so we  still need to do much work to help the disabled people.

A. was raised; has risen     B. was raised; were raised

C. rose; has risen          D. rose; were raised

The door is __________ narrow for the elephant __________.

A. too; to go     B. enough; to go

C. so; to go to   D. too; to go through

— Mmm, the meat __________ well and __________ good!

— Of course! You know my father is a good cook.

A. cooks; smells     B. is cooked; is smelt

C. is cooked; smells D. cooks; is smelt