A long time ago people thought that the sun went round the earth. In some countries people even said that the sun was a god(神). They thought the god drove across the sky each day on a golden horse. Now we know the earth goes round the sun. It takes the earth a year to go all way round the sun. Today men even know how far it is for the earth to go round the sun. They tell us that the earth travels over a thousand miles a minute on its journey round the sun.

   The sun is really a star. It is much bigger than the earth and it is very hot. Some people have been to the moon but we know that no one can ever go to the sun. It is far too hot for people to live anywhere near it. The sun is three hundred thousand times heavier than the earth and more than million times larger.

1.  A long time ago, people said the sun was ____.

A. a golden horse of god     B. a god on a golden horse

C. a god with golden dress   D. a god and a golden horse

2.  The earth travels over ____ miles an hour.

A. 1,000   B. 100,000    C. 6,000,000    D. 60,000

3.  One year is ____

A. the time for the earth to turn round.

B. the time the earth travels one thousand miles.

C. one circle the earth goes round the sun.

D. the journey of the earth.                      

Everything has a name. All people, places and things have names. For example, Jenny is the name of a student from England. England is the name of her country. Cities and towns have names, too. Schools and office building also have names. All things have names. Names are important.

Names are different all over the world. In Jenny’s class, Jenny must learn the names of students from all over the world. This is very difficult because the names are different.

In the USA, most people have a first name, a middle name, and a last name. Parents choose the first and middle names for their baby. There are names for boys and names for girls. For example, John, Peter, Tom and Mike are all names for boys. Elizabeth, Betty, Susan, and Mary are all names for girls. The last name is the family name. Usually it is the father’s family name. In a family, the mother, the father, and the children usually have the same last name.

Names are different all over the world. They can be long or short, but they are always very important.

4.  Why does everything have a name? Because ______.

       A. it is very interesting to have a name           

B. it is very easy to be remembered

       C. it is very easy to be told from others           D. both B and C

5.  It is difficult to learn names all over the world because ______.

       A. there are many different languages

       B. the names in different countries are different

       C. some names are very short, some are very long

       D. there are many names all over the world

6.  Which of the following is true?

       A. It’s difficult to learn the names because they are different

       B. There is no difference between girls’ names and boys’ names

       C. Jenny doesn’t want to learn the names very well

       D. It’s easy for Jenny to learn the names of her classmates.

7.  What names are for girls?

       A. George, Linda, Susan             B. Tom, Jill, Candy

      C. Elizabeth, Betty, Mary        D. Peter, Jeff, Jack         

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       We offer student insurance plans for:

Why buy Student Health Insurance from us?

       At International Student Insurance, we pride ourselves on offering the best international student insurance plans to students from all around the world. Our plans are recognized around the world as providing high-quality service at low prices — so please feel free to browse our site and learn more about what we offer.

       We also offer many ways to help you in your buying decision. Please also feel free to contact (联系) our friendly customer support team who are on hand either by e-mail or phone.You don’t have to be a student to buy one of our plans. Non-students can visit our sister site International Citizens — International Health Insurance.

       If you are looking for an international plan to fit the need of your group of international students, please visit our group insurance center for more.

8.  Any student who wants to learn about the insurance plans can click the following EXCEPT ______.

A. Student Safety                B. International Citizens

C. Atlas International          D. Student STM

9.  The underlined word “browse” (in Paragraph 4) means “______”.

A. look after                        B. look for          

C. look through                 D. look at

10.  Where can we probably read this passage?

A. In a newspaper.                B. On the Internet.   

C. In a magazine.             D. In a story book.

11.  The group insurance center is for ______.

A. every student               B. groups of international students  

C. American students               D. single international student          

Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a week long trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.

The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?

Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.

I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing （揭露） the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.

I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.

12. Why did Delta give the author's family credits?

A. They took a later flight.        B. They had early bookings.

C. Their flight had been delayed.   D. Their flight had been cancelled.

13. What can we learn about the author?

A. She rarely misses a good deal.

B. She seldom makes a compromise.

C. She is very strict with her children.

D. She is interested in cheap products.

14. What does the author do?

A. She's a teacher.         B. She's a housewife.         

C. She's a media person.        D. She's a businesswoman.

15. What does the author want to tell us?

A. How to expose bad tricks.     B. How to reserve airline seats.

C. How to spend money wisely.   D. How to make a business deal.

Tips for cooking on a Tight Schedule

From my experience, there are three main reasons why people don’t cook more often: ability, money and time, __16__Money is a topic I’ll save for another day. So today I want to give you some wisdom about how to make the most of the time you spend in the kitchen. Here are three tips for great cooking on a tight schedule:

1. Think ahead. The moments when I think cooking is a pain are when I’m already hungry and there is nothing ready to eat. So think about of the coming week. When will you have time to cook? Do you have the right materials ready?___17___

2.  Make your time worth it. When you do find time to cook a meal, make the most of it and save yourself time later on. Are you making one loaf of bread? ___18___ it takes around the same amount of time to make more of something. So save yourself the effort for a future meal.

­­­3.   ____19­­­____ This may surprise you, but one of the best tools for making cooking worth your time is experimentation. It gives you the chance to hit upon new ideas and recipes that can work well with your appetite and schedule. The more you learn and the more you try, the more ability you have to take control of your food and your schedule.

Hopefully that gives you a good start. ___20___ and don’t let a busy schedule discourage you from making some great changes in the way you eat and live!

A. Try new things.

B. Ability is easily improved.

C. Make three or four instead.

D. Understand your food better.

E. Cooking is a burden for many people.

F. Let cooking and living simply be a joy rather than a burden.

G. A little time planning ahead can save a lot of work later on.