19、Sixteen years ago a boy gave me an important gift．It was a smile．

It was the early autumn of my first year at a middle school, and my old school was far away．As a result, no one knew who I was．I was very lonely, and afraid to make friends with anyone．

Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart break．I couldn’t talk with anyone about my problems．

Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual．At that moment, a boy entered the classroom．I didn’t know who he was．He passed me and then turned back．He looked at me, with a smile．

Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly．It made me feel happy, lively and warm．That smile changed my life．I started to talk with other students and made friends．Day by day, I became closer to everyone in my class．The boy with the lucky smile has become my best friend now．

One day I asked him why he smiled, but he couldn’t remember smiling at me!

It doesn’t matter because all the dark days have gone．I believe that the world is what you think it is．If you think it lonely, you might always be alone．So smile at world and it will smile back．

1． When did the writer get the gift?  _______

A． When she was 16 years old．

B． After she made friends with the boy．

C． In her first year at a middle school 

D． After she became closer to everyone in her class

2． Why was the smile an important gift?  _______

   A． Because the writer’s old school was far away．

   B． Because the writer didn’t know who the boy was．

   C． Because the smile didn’t mean anything to the boy．

   D． Because it made the writer feel happy, lively and warm．

3． Where does she now think her feeling of unhappiness came from? _______

   A． From her old school．                B． From her parents．      

   C． From herself                              D． From her classmate at the new school

18、As we know, there are differences between western culture and Chinese culture．We can see differences when we pay attention to the way words are used．Let’s look at the words about animals and plants．Most expressions in Chinese about the dog, for example, “a homeless dog”, “a mad dog”, “a running dog” and “a dog catching a mouse”, have negative* meanings．But in western countries, dogs are thought to be honest and good friends of humans．In English, people use the dog to describe positive* actions．For example, “you are a lucky dog” means you are a lucky person．And “every dog has its day” means each person has good luck sometimes．To describe a person’s serious illness, they say “sick as a dog”．The word “dog-tired” means very tired．However, Chinese love cats very much．But in western culture, “cat” is often used to describe a woman who is cruel*．

The rose is regarded as a symbol* of love in both China and some western countries．People think the rose means love, peace, courage and friendship．And the rose is the national flower of England, America and many other countries．

The words about plants and animals are used in positive or negative ways in different cultures．We can learn about many differences in cultures by comparing how some words are used．

1． “Every dog has its day．” means “_______”．

A． Everybody in the world is lucky．

B． Each person lives his own way of life．

C． If one works hard, he’s sure to succeed．

D． Everybody has a time in life to be lucky．

2． Western people usually use “cat” to refer to“_______”．

A． a tired person                                           B． a brave man

C． a homeless person                                     D． an unkind woman

3． Which of the following is true according to the passage?  ______

A． Words show differences in culture．

B． Chinese people prefer dogs to cats．

C． Western people think cats to be good friends．

D． Rose is the national flower of all western countries．

4． What’s the best title for the passage?  ______

A． Negative or Positive 

B． Different Countries Have Different Culture

C． Rose Means the Same in Chinese and English

D． What Dog and Cat Mean in English and Chinese

17、Millions of young people are writing blogs．Millions of others are reading them．The word "blog" is a short way of saying Web log．

Many popular Web sites now offer free, easy ways to create personal Web pages and fill them with writings and pictures．Web sites called "Facebook" and "MySpace" are some of the most popular blog sites for young people．Many young adults use their blogs to write about daily activities and events in their lives．They also provide a place for people to write their ideas and opinions and how they think of others’ ideas．

Blogs offer young people a place to show their writings and feelings．They can also be helpful to connect* young people with others．But blogs can become dangerous when they are read on the Internet by millions of people all over the world．

Recent studies show that young people often provide their names, age and where they live on the Internet．That may not be safe for them．This personal information puts them at risk* of being searched out by dangerous people who want to hurt them．Many students do not know about privacy* and are surprised to learn that adults can read their personal daily records easily．Students can also get into trouble when they put information about others on their blogs． 

   As a result, many schools have banned* the use of blogging web sites on school computers． Many schools have also begun teaching parents about the web sites． Parents should know what their children are doing online and should read their blogs to make sure they are not giving out private information．One way to keep away from these problems is to use programs so that blogs can be read by "friends only．" people can read the website only if they know a secret word chosen by the blogger．

1． "Facebook" and "MySpace" are ________．

A． school subjects                                  B． computer programmes

C． School online BBS                             D． blog sites for young people  

2． Blogs may be dangerous because________．

A． they get in the way of studies

B． they are not allowed for school students

C． surfing the Internet is bad for eyes

D． personal information can be found in blogs easily

3． This passage is mainly about _________．

A． the safety of children’s blogs               B． how to search the internet

    C． students’ behavior at school                D． communicating with parents at home

4． According to the passage, many schools help children avoid blog problems by doing

 everything EXCEPT________．

    A． teaching parents about the web sites

B． asking students to use programs to refuse strangers

     C． telling school students not to make any net friends

     D． stopping students from blogging on school computers      

5． You can enjoy your blog safely if________．

      A． you write your blog at school

B． use a secret number for friends to enter your blog

     C． your parents have little knowledge about websites

     D． you show all your writings and feelings in your blog