In fall 2006，the National Basketball Association （NBA）started using basketballs made with synthetic ，or man-made ，material instead of leather（皮革）．They made the change be- cause they wanted every basketball they use to feel and bounce（彈起）the same．Not all leather balls are exactly alike in weight or how they bounce，but the synthetic balls are．

However，some players complained right away that the new balls bounced differently and were actually harder to control than the leather ones．

Physics helped answer questions about why the new balls felt different．For example，the scientists studied friction（摩擦力），which in this case affects the ability of a player to hold onto a ball．"The greater the friction，the better it will stick to his hand，"explains a scientist．

Tests on both wet and dry balls showed that while the synthetic ball was easier to hold onto when dry，it had less friction and became much harder to hold onto when wet．That's because sweat（汗水） stays on the surface of the synthetic balls but gets taken into the leather balls．

The scientists also tested bounce and found that the logo （商標(biāo)）printed on the new balls made their surface uneven（不平） and caused them to bounce a little strangely com- pared with the leather balls．

In January，the NBA went back to using the leather bails．They aren't perfect，but for now，that's just the way the ball bounces．

1．Why were the synthetic balls expected to be used in NBA according to the text?

       A．Because they are easier to control．           B．Because they waste less material．

       C．Because they look exactly alike．             D．Because they feel and bounce alike．

2．The ball is easier to hold on to_________

A．when friction is greater                    B．when friction is less

C．when it is heavier                         D．when it bounces strangely

3．The synthetic ball bounces differently from the leather one mainly because _________

A．it is wet                                  B．it is dry

C．there's a logo on it                       D．its weight remains the same

4．It can be inferred（推斷） from the text that _________．

A．a(chǎn) synthetic ball takes in water faster than a leather ball

B．a(chǎn) leather ball is more difficult to make than a synthetic one

C．a(chǎn) synthetic ball is more expensive than a leather ball

D．a(chǎn) leather ball may increase its weight during a game

5．The underlined word" They" in the last paragraph refers to __________．

A．the synthetic balls                        B．the leather balls

C．the ball players                          D．the scientists

Six Chinese Characters

Dear students，our country has a long history．Chinese characters usually have more than one meaning and some of them are particularly loved by Chinese people．Here are the top six lucky ones．Please note we use “pinyin” here because “pinyin” is the Chinese spelling system for the characters．For example，“fu” is the “pinyin” for good luck in Chinese．“pinyin” “fu” is only the phonic（語音的）part of the character and if you want to know the meaning of good luck “fu”，you must read the Chinese character 福 because “fu” also represents（代表）other Chinese characters that sound the same．

1．福 “fu” 一一blessing，good fortune，good luck

Chinese character 福 “fu” is one of the most popular ones used during Chinese New Year．It is often displayed upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment．The upside down �！癴u” means good luck came since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for “came”．

2．祿 “l(fā)u” means prosperity

It is used to mean official's salary（薪水）in feudal（封建的）china．

3．壽 “shou” means longevity

Chinese character 壽 “shou” also means life，age or birthday．

4．喜 “xi” is Happiness．

The doubled character 喜 “xi” means double happiness．It is usually displayed everywhere at Chinese weddings．

5．財(cái) “cai” is wealth or money

Chinese often say “money can make a ghost turn a millstone”．It is to say money really can do a lot of things：but，still--money can't buy everything．

6．和 “he” means harmonious

People's harmony is an important part of Chinese culture．When you have harmonious relations with others，things will be a lot easier for you．

1．What does the word “character” mean in this passage?

A．性格                      B．漢字                       C．角色                      D．特征

2．We use ________ to show how to read the Chinese characters．

A．“pinyin”                 B．spelling                  C．Chinese                  D．letters

3．What does the upside down 福 “fu” mean?

A．It means coming．                                    B．It means that good luck came．

C．It means good fortune                                D．It means that “fu” is upside down．

4．Which sentence is right?

A．Money is a ghost．                                   B．Money can buy everything．

C．Money is everything．                                D．Money isn't everything．

5．After reading the passage，can we say that sound “he” only means harmony?

A．No，we can't．                                         B．Yes，we can．

C．I know several words read as “he”．            D．Yes，you can．

News 1

Yuan Longping，the father of hybrid rice（雜交水稻），won the World Food Prize on Monday．Yuan developed the world first popular and Widely known hybrid rice．Hybrid rice plants can make more rice than common ones．

News 2

Liu Xiang won China's first gold medal in the world championships（錦標(biāo)賽）in 12.95 seconds．

“Everybody wants to win a world title．I was nervous before the race．But I dealt with it so I'm very happy，” Liu said with a smile after the race．

Some reporters noticed that at the star，Liu Xiang was crying．He said that is his way of letting off pressure．“My start wasn't good，maybe because I was nervous or because I was a bit slow．” he said．

Liu will Fun next at the Shanghai Grand Prix（大獎(jiǎng)賽）meeting at the end of September．He is confident（自信的）after winning the gold medal．“I want people to know how fast I am，” he said．“This is number one speed．There's nothing I can't do．”

News 3

Have you ever got angry at books that are full of mistakes? Don't worry，things will get better soon．Last week，China started checking textbooks，dictionaries and children's books all over the country．The government said the results of the check would come out at the end of June．

News 4

Last Wednesday Medvedev（梅德韋杰夫）took over from Vladimir Putin（普京）．At the age of 42，he becomes the youngest president of modern Russia．

Medvedev was born to a family of teachers．He read a lot from a young age．After university，the soft-spoken young man went on to teach law at university and became very popular with his students．

In 2005，Medvedev became the first deputy prime minister（第一副總理）．But he was as friendly as before．“He has not changed．He invited me to his home，”said Vera Smirnova，Medvedev's first teacher．“In Russia，only two politicians（政治家）have invited their first teachers to their homes，Medvedev and Putin．”

1．Yuan Longping won the World Food Prize because he                ．

A．is the father of his children                          B．likes to eat hybrid rice

C．developed hybrid rice                                  D．spent a long time to research hybrid rice

2．Why was Liu Xiang crying at the start?

A．He wanted to reduce pressure．                B．He was nervous．

C．He was a bit slow．                                    D．He was excited．

3．Checking textbooks，dictionaries and children's books will                ．

A．make sure the books are not too expensive    B．make the children unhappy

C．make sure there are few mistakes in them     D．make the government lots of money

4．According to News 4，Medvedev is now                   ．

A．a(chǎn) lawyer                                                 B．a(chǎn) teacher

C．the first deputy prime minister                     D．the youngest president of modern Russia

5．What Medvedev's first teacher said shows                  ．

A．Medvedev is as friendly as before

B．Medvedev and Putin were her students

C．Medvedev has changed

D．Medvedev and Putin invited her to their homes

Bicycles are very popular around the world today．People ride their bicycles for exercise and enjoyment．In some places，people use a bicycle to get to work．In other places，bicycle riding is a very popular exercise to people who live in cities．But who invented the first bicycle? In 1791，a Frenchman named Comte de Sivrac invented and owned the first bicycle．Mrs. Sivrac rode（騎）the bicycle in Paris．The handles（把手）and the seat were wooden．This bicycle was very difficult to move．A rider even had to pick up the front wheel to change direction．Finally，the bicycle had no brakes for stopping or pedals for the feet! Riding a bicycle was a great risk．

In 1817，a German named Baron von Drais de Sauerbrun made the first bicycle better．The seat became more comfortable．The wheel could now change direction．His ride in the forest took only one hour instead of three hours on foot，which surprised people at that time．

Sauerbrun brought this kind of bicycle from Germany to France．Then Denis Johnson，an Englishman，made a bicycle for women．It had space for their dresses to hang down．But these bicycles still had no brakes or pedals，and riders often got hurt．These bicycles and the people who rode them were not very popular．

It took another forty-five years for the bicycle to become popular．More than 100 years later，bicycle riding is more popular than ever．In fact，in India and China，there are still many more bicycles than ears．

1．Which of the following best describes the first bicycle?

A．Very popular．                                    B．Easy to carry．      

C．Ugly-looking．                                    D．Difficult to ride．

2．Why was it a risk to ride the first bicycle?

A．Because it had no pedals for the feet．

B．Because it was difficult to control（控制）．

C．Because people would laugh at you．

D．Because handles and the seat were wooden．

3．Which of the following was not improved by Sauerbrun to the first bicycle?

A．Brakes were added to it．

B．It was made to go faster．

C．The wheel could now change direction．

D．The seat was made more comfortable．

4．What’s the major difference between Denis Johnson’s bicycle and the earlier ones 7

A．It was more comfortable．                          B．It was faster and safer．

C．It had space for the rider's dress．               D．It had metal handles and seat．

5．The best title（題目）for the passage would be                 ．

A．Bicycles Around the World                          B．How to Ride a Bicycle

C．The Greatest Invention                                D．The First Bicycle

The new book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood is warmly welcomed by the children in China. It sells well across China. You can see and hear the advertisements about the book here and there.

Why is the book so attractive(吸引人的) to children? After reading it, I was attracted by the magic(魔幻的)world. I can not help asking: where is our own Harry Potter?

    China has a long history and colorful culture, With a large market of teenagers, China published（出版）many popular books among children. However, why are the present(目前的)books not as good as those foreign ones?

    Firstly, quite a number of children's are of strong sense of teaching, and they have little interest. Reading them, children often have a feeling of being "educated". Certainly, they don't like them. Secondly, fewer children like the same stories, but most Chinese books are usually much the same. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. Finally, the writers seldom think about children's needs.

    First- class Reading for children should be interesting, and written in their language.

62. About the present Chinese children's books, which is NOT right?

    A. They have little interest.      B. Our writers seldom know children's needs.

    C. Most of them are the same.    D. They are better than foreign ones.

63. Harry Potter is so popular, because_______.

    A. it's the same as Chinese books         B. it can lead children into a wonderful world

    C. it's not written in children's language    D. it's advertised more often on TV or posters

64. The Chinese meaning of the underlined phrase "First-class Reading" is_______.

    A．第一批讀物  B．一節(jié)課的閱讀    C．一流的讀物    D．基礎(chǔ)的閱讀

65. "Where is our own Harry Potter?" means_______.

    A. the writer can't find any books for children

    B. Chinese parents should buy Harry Potter for their children

    C. our children should learn from Harry Potter

    D. Chinese writers should write better books for children