It's interesting to have a chance to teach English abroad because you see a completely different education system． I am teaching in Belgium （比利时） this year and I have realized（1）　　 there are some big differences．

For example， in the UK， it is （2）　　 to wear a school uniform． It is nice to wear a school uniform （3）　　 you don't have to think about what to wear in the morning．You just put on your uniform and go． This （4）　　 a lot of time．

Another difference I have noticed is also about clothing： Teachers（5）　　 in a more relaxed way in Belgium． They wear（6）　　． In my experience in the UK， teachers wear similar things to the people （7）　　 work in an office： shirts and ties for men； dresses， skirts， dark trousers and shirts for women．

As I am working with older students who are aged（8）　　 16 to 18 ， I have also noticed that they have （9）　　 subjects than I did at their age． In the UK， students only choose four subjects （five if they have very good grades） at 16． Some people like this， because it means they do not have to study subjects they don't like．Others feel that students make such a big choice too（10）　　， because the subjects they choose at 16 will have an influence on what they can study at university．

Amazing Animals

A Cat Has Cool Eyes

It's hard to look away from Pam Pam， a white shorthair cat． Pam Pam has iridis， an eye problem that means one eye is blue and the other is a different color﹣﹣﹣yellow．

"Luckily， iridis doesn't cause any pain or sight problems，" Doctor Seth Cohen says．This problem can also be found in humans and other animals，such as dogs and horses． An interesting thing： Pam Pam's owner always matches a scarf to her eye colors．

Even though Pam Pam doesn't look like a regular cat， she acts like one． She loves to hide behind chairs and jump out at the little dog suddenly when he walks by．

A Sea Lion Goes for a Walk

What does a wild sea lion do when he needs some exercise？A sea lion named Astro walked to the crowd on the road! Astro pushed himself to a nearby school last Friday．The students soon called the Wildlife Center for help and sent him back．There， Astro lived with other sea lions again﹣﹣﹣and got plenty of exercise!

A Hero Horse

When a cow attacked （攻击） Fiona Boyd， she found herself in a scary place．"I was under her four legs and …" Boyd says． Luckily for the farmer， her horse rushed to the cow， and began fighting with her legs as her owner moved to safety．

"I'm quite sure Kerry saved my life．She became my bodyguard． That was her purpose in life．" Boyd says．

（1）Which of the following about Pam Pam is TRUE？ 　　

A． Pam Pam is afraid of the little dogs．

B． Pam Pam's eye colors are different．

C． Pam Pam's scarf matches her hair color．

D． Iridis makes Pam Pam blind．

（2）What was Astro's amazing experience last Friday？ 　　

A． He walked to the crowd on the road．

B． He played with some students．

C． He exercised in the Wildlife Center．

D． He went to a school playground．

（3）Why is Kerry called a "Hero Horse"？ 　　

A． Because she attacked Fiona Boyd．

B． Because she saved Fiona Boyd．

C． Because she saved the cow．

D． Because she was strong and fast．

If you ask me what my favorite sport is， my answer is swimming． I started learning how to swim when I was five years old． I have been swimming ever since．

There are many reasons why I love swimming， but I'll just share a few with you． Maybe I can even encourage you to go for a swim．

The first reason I love swimming is that I feel totally relaxed whenever I leave the pool． I love the feeling of floating on the water and feeling almost weightless．

On the other hand． it can also be a competitive sport which raises your heartbeat． It's amazing pushing yourself to the challenge of beating someone else to the finish line． It's great fun racing across the pool as fast as you can！

Another reason that I love swimming is that it has more styles than other sports such as running and walking．It doesn't feel like you're doing the same thing over and over again．

In summer， swimming can be a nice， refreshing （恢复精力的） break! There's nothing better than jumping into the water on a hot summer's day． You can choose to swim in a swimming pool or in the sea．

And finally，it's a life skill which everyone should have．Not only is it good for your health， but you never know when you'll need your ability to swim．

（1）In Paragraph 3， "floating" means "　　" in Chinese．

A． 跳跃

B． 漂浮

C． 翻滚

D． 日光浴

（2）The last sentence of the passage means that　　．

A． swimming is a healthy sport

B． swimming is a useful life skill

C． everyone should have more life skills

D． you should teach your friends to swim

（3）Which of the following is not mentioned？　　

A． Swimming is relaxing．

B． Swimming is competitive．

C． Swimming is simple

D． Swimming is refreshing．

（4）What can be the best title for the passage？　　

A． How to Swim Better

B． Let's Do Sports

C． A Swimming Star

D． Why I love Swimming

Both language and music play a huge role in our culture． Here are some of their similarities．

（1）Both language and music have a writing system．

In English we record language using letters． Similarly， we use notes to record music． Just as you are reading letters and find meaning in them， musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music． So just as you read English， you can read music． By writing pieces of text or music， we are able to share experiences through time． I can read the ideas or hear the works of someone who lived hundreds of years ago， which is really exciting．

（2）　　

You can guess where someone is from by listening to the language they use．In the same way，styles of music are different around the world， giving us the chance to understand many different cultures， This also means that there is something for everyone! Even if you don't like British pop music， you may love the energy of Latin American salsa music．

（3）Both share feelings．

How do you know that I am angry？ Of course you can see it in my face， but you will know for sure through my words， Similarly， music can show you exactly how the composer （作曲者） was or is feeling． When I'm happy， I want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate my happiness； and I listen to slow and quiet music when I'm feeling down． I think we have all used music to express our feelings， often combining （结合）it with language in the form of song lyrics．

（1）Which of the following is the best for the blank？　　

A． Both are from daily life

B． Both bring us happiness

C． Both have a sound system

D． Both vary （变化） with culture．

（2）According to the passage， when the writer feels unhappy， he might listen to　　．

A． scary movie music

B． exciting rock music

C． loud electronic music

D． sad piano music

（3）The underlined word "it" in the passage refers to "　　"．

A． music

B． idea

C． feeling

D． culture

（4）Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage？　　

A． We use notes to write music．

B． We can write music if we speak English．

C． We can understand different cultures in music．

D． We can share the composer's feelings in his or her music．

When Zheng He was born， he was named Ma Wenhe． He was born in Yunnan in 1371． （1）　　 However， when the Ming Dynasty was established （建立）， the army caught Ma Wenhe and took him to one of the emperor's sons， Prince Zhu Di．

Ma Wenhe served the prince well and soon he became one of the prince's closest advisors． （2）　　． Later the prince became the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty as the Yongle Emperor． The Yongle Emperor wanted to show other countries the greatness and power of the Ming Dynasty． （3）　　． He made Zheng He the leader of a fleet （舰队） and ordered him to explore （探索） the world．

On Zheng He's first trip， he traveled all the way to Calicut， India． With over 200ships and nearly 28，000men， he visited many countries along the way． His first trip lasted from 1405to1407． Zheng He and his fleet traded and made close relations at the places they visited．

Zheng He continued to sail for the Ming Dynasty over the rest of his life． He traveled to many faraway places， going all the way to the African coast and establishing trade relations with over 25countries． （4）　　． He also brought back diplomats （外交官） from many countries to meet with the Chinese Emperor．