Children are used to the parties that consist of junk food, loud music and the like. However, today's environmental condition is serious, so to save our environment, we need to do our bit by making small changes in our activities like planning our kid's birthday parties in an eco-friendly manner.

The first idea for the “green” birthday party is selecting a “green” location. You can put some choices in front of your child like gardens, parks and farms and let him or her select one for the party. The benefit of choosing a natural outdoor location is that it doesn't require much decoration, which will save your money. Also, it'll bring your child close to nature.

Secondly, go “green” while you're listing out the required materials for the party.  Use reusable and recyclable materials like cloth table covers instead of plastic. For decorations, avoid plastics by using natural things like plants, candles, etc.. What's more, you can avoid using paper invitations and invite people by sending e-mail invitations to them.

Thirdly, plan the food according to the “green” theme. Serve delicious but healthy food to the guests. Fruits, vegetables and nuts can be the most appropriate parts in party food as they taste great, and are extremely healthy. Home-made cakes will also serve the purpose very well.

Lastly, conduct “green” activities. For giving children a learning experience, take them on a trip to the nearest farm and let them see the working system there. After the learning experience, let them play together in a park. Also children can make up stories which you can write down for them. These written pages will be colored by the kids and will be their return gifts.

Plan a unique but wonderful birthday party for your kid to enjoy. If we all contribute to this cause, soon we'll see our earth back in her green coat.

71.             for Our Kids

I. Reason

    Today's 72.             makes it necessary to plan our kids' birthday parties in an eco-friendly way.

II. 73.            

▲ Selecting a “green” location

    Letting your child choose a natural outdoor location, which not only saves money but also allows your kid to get 74.            

▲ Using “green” materials

    • Using natural materials that can be 75.            

    • Inviting people to the party by 76.             instead of using paper invitations

▲ Planning the food based on 77.            

    • Preparing delicious but healthy food like fruits, vegetables and nuts

    • 78.             at home

    ▲ 79.            

    • Taking children to a farm or park to 80.            

    • Taking down stories created by children, which will be their return gifts after being colored

III. Benefits

Planning a unique but wonderful birthday party helps save the earth.

Have you ever wondered how a turtle got its shell? You're not the only one. Paleontologists (古生物學(xué)者) have long been confused by the question. But a recently found turtle fossil (化石), the oldest on record, may hold the answer. Researchers report in Nature that the fossil shows shells evolved（進(jìn)化）as an extension of turtles' backbones and ribs (肋骨).

“The discovery opens a new chapter in the study of the origins and early history of these fascinating reptiles (爬行動(dòng)物),” says paleontologist Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto.

Scientists have been in the dark until now because all turtle fossils previously discovered had complete shells. (The previously oldest known turtle was discovered in Germany. It dated to about 210 million years ago. ) But this 220 million-year-old fossil is an ancestor of the modern turtle at a stage when its shell was still evolving.

The 40-cm-long fossil was discovered in Guizhou province. An international team of paleontologists led by Li Chun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing analyzed it. They reported that the bones belonged to a Triassic (三疊紀(jì)的) turtle, which they named odontochelys semitestacea（半甲齒龜）, meaning “toothed turtle with a half shell”.

The fossil has a shelled belly（腹部）and a little extra bone on its spine (脊柱). That supports the theory that turtles' shells formed over time as their backbones and ribs grew. Before the discovery, some paleontologists thought shells were formed as hard, bony plates in turtles' skin, such as those in the skin of modern-day crocodiles. The authors say that this turtle species probably lived in water and that their stomach shell kept them safe from predators (捕食者) below while they were swimming.

66. The passage is mainly about _______.

A. a brief introduction to the structure of turtle shells

B. a new insight about how turtle shells formed gradually

C. a brief introduction to the living habits of turtles

D. The study of the origins and early history of turtles

67. Which is TRUE about the newly found turtle fossil?

A. It was Li Chun, one Chinese paleontologist, who found the turtle fossil.

B. The turtle fossil found in southwestern China is 210 million years old.

C. The fossil shows turtle shells evolved from turtles' backbones and bellies.

D. Scientists now know how turtle shells evolved with the help of the fossil.

68. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. The newly found fossil plays a key role in studying the origins of reptiles.

B. Paleontologists think turtle shells developed from turtles' hard skin.

C. Some species of turtles don't have stomach shells because they live on land

D. Paleontologists have long been puzzled about what makes up turtle shells.

69. Nature, mentioned in Paragraph 1, is most probably the name of _______.

A. a science fiction                  B. a magazine on science

C. a photo website                     D. a science organization

70. The structure of this passage is _______.

① The new theory is very important.     ② The oldest turtle fossil was found.

③ A new discovery on how shells evolved has been made.

④ How scientists made a new theory on how shells evolved from the fossil

A. ① ② ③ ④          B. ① ③ ④ ②            C. ③ ① ② ④          D. ② ④ ① ③

In adulthood the things that bring deep joy -- love, marriage, birth -- also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(復(fù)雜的).

My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”. The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to over-look the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.

I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.

We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious（自我意識(shí)）about our “right” to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.

Happiness isn't about what happens to us -- it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.

61. As people grow older, they_______.

A. feel it harder to experience happiness                   B. associate their happiness less with others

C. will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness             D. tend to believe responsibility means happiness

62. What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?

A. She cares little about her own health.                    B. She enjoys the freedom of traveling.

C. She is easily pleased by things in daily life.             D. She prefers getting pleasure from housework.

63. What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?

A. Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness.

B. Psychologists' opinion is well proved by Grandma's case.

C. Grandma often found time for social gatherings.

D. Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life.

64. People who equal happiness with wealth and success _______.

A. consider pressure something blocking their way    B. stress their right to happiness too much

C. are at a loss to make correct choices                      D are more likely to be happy

65. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

B. Each man is the master of his own fate.

C. Success leads to happiness.

D. Happy is he who is content.

It was Andria Baker's high school graduation party, and the time had come for her father to make good on a promise that he had made her years ago, when she was a fourth-grader. “After you started on your first day of kindergarten and continue it through your last day of high school, and I'll buy you a car.” Tim Baker had told the child.

Through the years, Andria Baker kept up her end of the bargain, willing herself to go to school on those days even when she felt under the weather. She did carry out her 13th year of uninterrupted coming to the class-room with her final day at Constantine High School even when she was ill.

At Sunday's party, her father gave the young woman the keys to a new, $17,000 Pontiac G6. Tim Baker, who teaches seventh grade at Constantine Middle School, said he has no regret about the deal. “Without a doubt, it was worth every penny I spent.” he said. The look on his daughter's face when she saw the car was great. Baker said, “When she turned around after seeing the car, she did not know what to do. We got her into the car and she just sat there. Then she ran into the house to get her driver's license, and she and her best friend got in the car and drove down the road.”

Andria Baker, 19, said she thinks she would have gone ahead with that even if a new car had not been promised her. “A lot of my friends thought I was crazy, but I just kept going.” she said. Baker plans to go after an education degree at Alma College.

“In my sophomore year I hurt my ankle in a basketball game, and it was really painful,” she said. “Also that day I caught a cold and the teacher looked at me and said, ‘I'm not the teacher who's going to send you home.’ ”

56. How old did Andria Baker begin her kindergarten?

A. Four years old.                     B. Six years old.          C. Thirteen years old.        D. Nine years old.

57. What does the phrase “site felt under the weather” mean?

A. She felt that the weather was very cold.               B, She didn't feel good.

C. Her body changed with the weather.                            D. She liked the weather very much.

58. When Andria Baker saw her present, she felt_____

A. surprised and excited          B. sad and crazy          C. frightened and worried       D. upset and angry

59. From the text, we can know that ______.

A. both Andria Baker and her father stayed in the same school

B. her father made the promise from the day when she began her school

C. her father didn't regret having bought her a new expensive car

D. Andria Baker is now studying at Alma College for a degree

60. Andria Baker could come to school every day because________.

A. she was helped by all of her friends                       B. she wanted to get a new car

C. she never got ill                                                       D. she lust wanted to keep on doing that

It's reported that over 300 million people in China are suffering from near-sightedness. As more children have got eye trouble, their parents hope to cure　 48 　disease by medicine or equipment or by correcting the way children read and sit. 　 49 in fact the care given to one's eyes should start with the exercise on one's feet. Three methods on how to protect are 50　 follows:

Firstly, don't fasten your shoes too tightly. Try wearing loose shoes　 51　 walking bare-footed at home. When traveling, try wearing cloth shoes to make blood circulation (循環(huán)) easier.

　 52　 , walking on tiptoes(腳尖) will help improve one's eyesight and prevent near-sightedness. Figures show that few ballet performers are near-sighted.

Thirdly, rope skipping also does good　 53　 one's eyesight. When skipping the rope, one has to react quickly, 　 54 　 excites the brain and the eyes. 　 55　 foot exercises, it's good to pull one's ears. Pulling the ears 20 times is found to be an effective way to reduce the pressure on one's eyes.

Everyone wants to win a first-place blue ribbon, to be the best in something. Even kids in kindergarten want that blue ribbon.

In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race, I was always   36  . In baseball I was likely to be   37   on the head or drop the ball. During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a field trip to a park in a town about twenty miles away. Making that drive now is no big   38   but when you're six and you've lived in a town of 300 people all your life, going to a big town of a couple of thousand people is really something.

I don't remember too much about it. But there was one that I will never forget -- the   39   race. The parents tied our feet together. One little boy got me for a   40   . He was the second most   41   boy in our class so he usually won at everything and I knew that with me tied to him he didn't have a chance. And I was sure he knew he was in trouble. The gun sounded and we were off. Some couples were falling and stumbling all around us,   42   we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side.   43  , when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one couple had a chance to win, and they were a good several yards behind us.

A few feet from the finish line, disaster struck: I tripped and fell. We were   44   enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. But he didn't. Instead, he stopped,   45   down helped me up -- just as the other couple crossed the finish line. As a result, we received a small red ribbon for coming in a second.

I still remember that moment when the young boy decided that helping a friend get on her feet was more important than winning a blue ribbon. And 13 years later, I still have that little ribbon because it's a  46   that a friend like this boy is one who really  47  .

36. A. last                          B. first                        C. quick                      D. successful

37. A. touched                          B. felt                         C. hit                          D. beaten

38. A. question                  B. event                      C. one                         D. deal

39. A. one-legged                     B. two-legged                    C. three-legged           D. four-legged

40. A. partner                           B. helper                            C. supporter               D. competitor

41. A. tallest                      B. youngest                C. athletic                   D. handsome

42. A. but                                 B. therefore                C. however                 D. and

43. A. Obviously                 B. Unbelievably           C. Secretly                  D. Undoubtedly

44. A. strong                      B. brave                      C. clever                            D. close

45. A. lay                                   B. slowed                    C. moved                           D. reached

46. A. warning                          B. reminder                 C. gift                         D. notice

47. A. depends                         B. counts                           C. supports                 D. obeys

 No one was surprised at _____ the examination. He______ working so hard

A. he passing; was             B. his pass; is                     C. him pass; has been        D. his passing; had been

 —I stayed at hotel while in Beijing.

—Oh, did you? You _____with my brother. He’s living in an apartment there alone.

A. would stay                     B. could stay               C. could have stayed         D. must have stayed

 Time ______, they'll come here to watch us ______ football.

A. permitted, playing B. permitted, to play  C. permitting, play                    D. permitting, to play

 —Did all these funny things happen in your club?

   —No, it was in the class _______I studied English.

A. when                      B. where                            C. that                               D. which