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　　What do you like most when you can get one of such things：freedom, true friends, love, honesty and so on? Here are some choices of students：

　　Chen Cheng, 14, Jiangsu：I think I need a true friend．I had some friends before．However, it seemed that they didn't treat(對待)me well．I told them my secrets but they didn't share(分享)theirs with me．What's worse, they told my secrets to others, which made me very unhappy．I hope to find a true lifelong(終身的)friend who can share happiness and sadness with me and keep my secrets．

　　Gan Xiaoning 14, Heilongjiang：Freedom is what I want most．I am a bird in two cages(籠子)．In school, I have to follow the school's rules and listen to teachers．At home, my parents don't allow me to do what I like, either．I have to do everything that they tell me to do：study, study and study some more．So, freedom is the only thing I really want!

　　Yuan Siyu, 15, Guangxi：I am a boy from a poor family．My father works very hard but only makes a little money every month to support(支撐)the family．I want to go to a key university(重點大學(xué))so that I can find a good job in the future．Then, I can earn enough money to get my family out of poverty(貧困)and offer my parents a happy life．

　　Qu Yi, 15, Hebei：I want a complete family．My parents got divorced(離婚)three years ago．Since then, I have had no chance to be together with both of them any more．Now, I am living with my mom and get her love, but I also want my dad's love．I am envious(羨慕)of my classmates who live with their parents．So, I would have a complete family if I could．

閱讀理解。

　　Which day is the most important for you? Your birthday, the first day of your work or the day you win a prize．Many teenagers may think their birthday is the happiest time because they can receive many wonderful presents and have much fun with their friends．Others may regard the starting day of their work as the most meaningful．They think it's the first big step in their life and they can depend on themselves．They like to deal with challenges rather than to ask for the help of adults．

　　According to a survey, more than half of the Chinese people, certain ages and birthdays are especially important．One hundred days after a baby's birth has special meaning．On that day, relatives(親戚)and friends come to bless the baby．In northern part of China, like Inner Mongolia, a child's 12th birthday is a big day．This is when a child becomes a teenager．Eighteen is another important age, which means you must be responsible(負責(zé)任的)for what you have done in laws．As for adults, maybe the anniversary of their marriage(結(jié)婚周年慶)is the most important．For some old people, the 60th or 70th birthday is also very important．They like to be cared about by all his family and friends, and the big family get-together can provide them a good chance to recall(回憶)the past．

閱讀理解。

　　BASEBALL．It’s just a word, but for millions of Americans it brings much more than a word．

　　Hot dogs．Cold beers．Sunny afternoons．Baseball is the game of fathers and sons．Fathers and sons catch with each other on lawns(草坪)in the US．A father’s favorite team becomes his son’s．Grandfathers talk to their grandsons about games played long ago．

　　Many American kids collect baseball cards．The cards have pictures of their favorite players on them．In school, friends trade(交換)baseball cards just like they trade their lunches．

　　Players are known as “the boys of summer” because people often play the sport mostly in warm months．You don’t need to be of a certain size or shape to play baseball．You don’t have to be tall like a basketball player or strong like an American footballer．You just need to want to have fun．

　　Baseball is not as fast-paced(快節(jié)奏的)a game as basketball．But when you go to see a game, there’s time to relax, talk and get to know other people．

　　Baseball may not be the most popular sport in the US, but it is the most traditional．It’s not just a game any more, but an important part of American culture, like apple pie and grandma’s house．

閱讀理解。

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　　Zhao Tao, a student from No．2 Middle School, came back from Shanghai last week．This morning, he told us something about his pleasant trip．When he talked about the Shanghai World Expo(上海世博會), he was so excited and so proud that he kept telling about it for several hours． The Shanghai World Expo held by China had been on for six months．It started on May 1st,and ended on October 31st,2010．Its main idea was “Better City, Better Life．” About 242 countries and organizations attended(參加)this expo．Many new products(產(chǎn)品)could be seen here, such as we could see the snow in the South Korea Corporate Pavilion(展館)every day during this hot summer though it seldom(很少)snows in Shanghai．And we could see, hear, touch and smell the 4-D films at the Oil Pavilion．How wonderful all these new products were!

　　China Pavilion was in the center of the expo garden．It was very beautiful．It represents(代表)the development of China from ancient(古代的)time to now．It’s a pride of our China!

　　Thousands of people from all over the world came to the expo every day during these months．And many volunteers worked for them．All the tourists were very pleased and they said that the Shanghai World Expo was the greatest one in the world so far．

　　However, Zhao said the expo garden was so crowded．Maybe the summer vacation was the best time to go there．”

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　　I have eaten in your restaurant many times and have always been happy with the food and service, but what happened last Saturday made me very angry．It was my son’s birthday so we ordered a no-smoking table at your restaurant for 7∶30 p. m．We arrived on time but were told that our table was not yet ready．At 8∶00 p. m., we were given a table in the smoking area．I asked to move but I was told that there were no other tables．A lot of people were smoking so it was uncomfortable and unhealthy．

　　The first waitress, Janet, was very polite and helpful．She gave us free drinks for waiting so long．Our food also came quickly and looked fresh and tasty．When my wife had eaten most of her meal, she found a dead cockroach(蟑螂)in her vegetables．She was surprised and wanted to leave．At first, the waitress told us it was a piece of garlic(大蒜)．When we told her that garlic does not have legs, she said sorry and took the food away．

　　We asked for the bill, expecting not to pay for my wife’s meal．Nobody came．After 15 minutes, I asked to see the manager．The head waiter told us that he was on holiday．I complained again about the terrible cockroach．He told me Janet had finished work．He didn’t believe my story and gave me a bill for three meals．I argued with him but had to pay in the end．

　　The waitress, Janet, was always friendly, but I would like an apology(道歉)from your impolite head waiter and a full refund(退款)for our meal．It cost ＄68．Until then, I will not be eating at your restaurant or recommending it to anyone．

　　You can contact me on 742-3254 or through e-mail if you want more information．

　　Thank you for your attention．

Yours sincerely,

Raymond Yuen

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你去過英國嗎？了解英國的名勝和名人嗎？下面一篇文章會帶你走進英國。

　　(The Tower Bridge)

　　(Buckingham palace)

　　The country of England is where the English language developed．Used now everywhere in the world, it has become the language used most on the Internet and for international trade．

　　Buckingham palace is the home of the royal family．It is in London, the capital city of England, which is also called Britain, where a new queen or king is crowned．This special ceremony takes place at Westminster Abbey, a beautiful church．When Princess Diana married Prince Charles, they had a wedding ceremony at another church called Saint Paul’s Cathedral．

　　Since London is the capital city, the Parliament Building is where government leaders do their business．On one end of this building is a clock called Big Ben．

　　There are other famous towers in London, one of which is called the Tower of London, used as a prison(監(jiān)獄)．Many famous people have been sent there, such as a wife of King Henry IV in the 16^th century．Today it is a museum for tourists, where you can visit instruments of torture．There is also a display of the Crown Jewels, a very valuable collection of diamonds, rubies and other stones of great beauty．Many are placed in crowns worn by the kings or queens long ago．

　　The Tower Bridge, over the Thames River has four towers．The river goes through the middle of London and past Windsor Castle, another home of the royal family, which is very safe place in time of war．

　　Another famous place is the town called Stratford on Avon．It is the city name and the river Avon flows through this city, so it means．Stratford is on the Avon River．It is the home of William Shakespeare, the best writer of plays, who wrote about 50 plays and they are still performed everywhere．

　　England is famous as well for two universities, which are called Cambridge and Oxford．The school name is the same as the city name．That is, Cambridge University is in Cambridge, Oxford University in Oxford．(the photos of two famous Universities)

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近年來，素質(zhì)教育在全國搞的有聲有色，各學(xué)校開展的活動也豐富多彩，下面的一篇文章讓你了解我國素質(zhì)教育的真諦。

　　To get a good mark in examinations has been regarded as being most important for a student, and it is also what parents always expect their children to do．But is it enough? These days increasing attention has been paid in schools across the country to what is called quality education．It means that a student, besides doing well in exams, should develop his skills in other ways in order to turn himself into a qualified(合格的)graduate of the country．

　　“Quality education”, said Xing Jizu, Party Secretary of the Education Bureau of downtown Hongkou District Shanghai, “aims to help students to gain a high moral(道德的)standard(水平), a strong sense of patriotism(愛國主義), a strong wish for learning, as well as a sound mind and body．

　　“We need reforms(改革)to achieve our goal for quality education,” Mr．Xing Jizu said．He also outlined what they planned．

　　Xing said that the return of Hong Kong to the mainland(大陸)in July 1997, for example, was regarded as a very good chance for educational advance．A lot of related activities were organized at all the schools in Hong Kou．

　　Besides, all schools in the district were advised to set up after-class art or science groups．A students’ art festival is to be held in each school every year．

　　As for physical education, every student is required to have at least one hour of exercise a day．Every year, a sports meeting will take place at each school．

　　Besides, various kinds after-school activities will be organized to help develop the students’ practical(實踐的)and social abilities．“What we are doing is by no means weaken(使-變差)the importance of the regular classroom teaching or exam results．” Xing pointed out, “Instead, we hope that through quality education, students can learn more, in less time, in an easy way．Only in this way can we bring up children fit for the bright future of China．”

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　　Many young people want to become pop-stars．It is their great ambition(雄心)in life．They think pop-stars earn a lot of money, they lead interesting and exciting lives, thousands of fans love them, and they become famous!

　　Yes, but first they must become stars．Most performers start life with a group．This is the pattern nowadays．But there are many groups and competitions are hard．Groups appear and disappear almost overnight．Only a small number survive．Almost without exception(異議)they have to work very hard before they reach the top．

　　And very few reach the top and stay there．In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top．Most of these do not earn so much money, perhaps 500 pounds each time they perform．What’s more, they have quite a lot of expenses(開銷)．They have to pay a manager, for example．He is the key person in their lives and takes about 20％ of their earnings(收入)--perhaps more．Then there are their clothes, their instruments and their van(房車)．Sometimes they are still playing for the last two items．

　　And don’t forget, they have to travel a great deal-sometimes 2,000 miles in one week．At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money．

　　So now, what do you think? Are pop-stars so rich? And do they have such exciting lives?

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你了解“禁酒令”嗎？“喝酒不開車，開車不喝酒”。法律規(guī)定：醉酒駕車要負刑事責(zé)任。

　　Two policemen stopped Andrew Kershaw in his sports car one night, because he was speeding in the street of the town．The young man was very drunk．He knew he was in trouble, so he decided to make fun of them．He was a law student at the university, so he knew the law very well, better than most people．

　　When the policemen came to his car, Andrew asked one of the policemen to write down in his notebook everything they said．The policemen had to do this because it is the law, although people usually don’t know it．The policemen tested Andrew’s breath and the breathalyzer showed that he had too much alcohol in his blood．This all took a long time because the policemen had to write down everything that he and the policemen said．

　　In the end, by law, the policemen had to ask Andrew if he wanted to say anything．Andrew decided that he had two things to say and the policemen had to write down．The first thing was “Please don’t hit me again, officer”．And the second thing was “Does the other officer want ￡5, too?” Of course, the poor policeman had to read this in court, in front of the judge, and he was very embarrassed．Andrew, who was in court, thought it was very funny, until the judge took away his license for a year and fined(罰款)him ￡100, ￡90 for drunk driving, and ￡10 for his rudeness!