An old man had seven sons who were always quarreling（争吵）. Some enemies decided to cheat them out of their property（财产）____ making them quarrel about it.

The good old man, one day, called his sons around ____ . He laid before them seven ____ , which were tied together with a rope. He said, “I will pay a hundred dollars to the one who can break the bundle（束，捆）. ”

Each one worked hard to break the bundle. They tried many times but they ____ . They all said that it could not be done.

“And yet, my ____ ,” said the father, “nothing is easier to do.” He then untied the bundle, and broke the sticks, one by one, very ____ “Ah!” said his sons, “it is easy enough to do it, so anybody could do it in that way.”

Their father replied, “As it is with these sticks, so is it with you, my sons. So long as you work ____ and help each other, you will do well, and none can hurt you. But if you quarrel and ____ , it will happen to you just as it has happened to these sticks, which lie here ____ on the ground.”

In fact, __ it is a home, city, or country, people will grow rich and strong when they work together and help each other.

   Friendships light up our lives. Everyone needs friends. Friends are very important. If you want to have good friends, you should be a good friend yourself first.

When I was 5 years old, I had a lot of friends. Almost every kid liked to play with me because I always shared my toy cars with others, Never be mean（小气的）if you want to be a good friend.

As an 11-year-old, I was captain（队长）of my soccer team I was also the best player. At the beginning, I wasn’t captain and I was the weakest player of the whole team. At that time, nobody wanted to make friends with me. Then I trained harder and harder, I made a lot of effort to catch up with the team. As the old saying goes—no pains, no gains. After a lot of hard work, I finally became a good player. My teammates wanted to make friends with me. If you want to be a good friend, always remember to make yourself stronger and stronger.

Now I’m 14. My friends and I have a lot of stress at school. I’m good at math and one of my best friends is good at English. We often help each other. I help him make progress in math. It really does work! Many of my classmates who are bad at math come to ask me for help. They become my friends as well…

Be a helpful study fellow（伙伴）if you want to be a good friend. Make yourself into a good friend and you’ll never walk alone.

   On a hot day, many people like to go to the beach. Some beaches, however, are not safe for swimming.

At some beaches, there are sharks in the water. So people put out shark nets. They help stop too many sharks from getting close to the beach. Sharks can still swim under or around the net. But if they try to swim through, they will get caught. Sharks can die if they are not cut free.

Shark nets don’t just catch sharks. They can catch other animals, too. They have caught dolphins, stingrays and turtles. Even a whale has been caught in a shark net. I took many people to get it free.

Some animals are not so lucky. They are killed in the nets. One day, a whale was swimming with her calf. The calf got caught in a shark net. The mother whale tried to get the calf to come with her. The calf was caught in the net. It couldn’t get free. The mother had to watch it die.

Many people think shark nets should not be used. Sharks are important to the ocean. They eat sick and dead fish. They help to keep the ocean clean. Sharks are the lions and the tigers of the sea.

Some people think there are other ways to keep beach safe for people. Sharks potters are people who watch for sharks. They go to a high place. Then they can look down on the beach. If they see a shark, a siren（汽笛）will sound. They put up a white flag. Then people get out of the water.

After all, the water is a shark’s home.

   Since NASA’s Viking Task tested Martian soil back in the 1970s, we’ve known that Mars (火星) is covered with a desert—harmful to life as we know it. But since tasks to Mars paid attention to what lies under the desert, a different picture has started to appear.

This discovery of water under the Mars’ South Pole is the result of radar echoes (雷达回波) that were picked up by an instrument on a spaceship that’s been moving around Mars for 15 years. To stay liquid (液体) under the long-frozen desert of Mars, the researchers say this lake must have a lot of salts mixed in it.

It is very cold and saltiness would make it a very hard environment for any living thing. But the lead researcher, Professor Roberto Orosei from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, said it was not impossible for things to live there.

To search for life in this newly discovered lake, scientists will need to send a robot that’s able to make a hole through the mile of ice covering it. But at least the teams looking for life on Mars will now know where to start their search.

   When you have a cold, your friends can’t visit you because they don’t want to get a cold. When you are part of a family, if one of you gets a cold, often all of you get it.

21．. Below are four ways to help stop a cold spreading and to feel better again.

●Wash your hands.

Washing your hands is the most important way to stop the spread of colds. Cold germs (病菌) are spread by touch. The germs get onto your hands and from there into your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash your hands carefully using soap and hot water.
22．, they will be much less likely to get the cold.

●Cover your nose and mouth.

There is a saying that “coughs and sneezes spread illness”.
23． when coughing and your nose if sneezing. That way, the cold germs won’t get onto your hands and spread to things you touch such as doorknobs, tap handles or cups and plates.

●
24．.

Cold germs are spread very easily. You can use a disinfectant (消毒的) cleaner to clean doorknobs, taps, toilet handles. Be sure to use only your own towel, toothbrush and cup.

●Take care of yourself.

25．. Eat healthy simple foods such as soup or rice. Get enough rest and sleep. Stay in bed, read a book. Do your schoolwork and practice your English!

Remember that a common cold only lasts a few days. You will feel better soon.

   Do you like Chinese folk music? Maybe your answer is no, but I like it very much. Last night, a friend of
26． (my) took me to a concert of Chinese folk music. The piece had a simple name, Erquan Yingyue (Moon Relected on Second Spring), which was played on the erhu, especially moved me. The erhu sounded sad
27． to make me almost cry along with it as I listened.
28． the music was strangely beautiful, under the
29． (beautiful) I sensed a strong sadness and pain. Later I looked up the story of Erquan Yingyue, and I began to understand the sadness in the music.

Abing, a folk musician
30． was born in the city of Wuxi in 1893,
31． (write) the music. His mother died when he was very young. He
32． (teach) to play many instruments by his father, and by age 17, Abing was famous
33． his musical ability. However, after his father died, Abing’s life grew
34． (bad). He was very poor. Not only that, he developed a serious illness and became blind. For several years, he had no home. He lived on the streets and played music
35． (make) a living.

   Do you know what a resolution is? It’s a kind of promise. Most of the time, we make promises to other people (“Mom, I promise I’m going to tidy my room when I get back from school.”) However, promises you make to yourself are resolutions, and the most common kind is New Year’s resolutions. The start of the year is often a time for making resolutions, When we make resolutions at the beginning of the year, we hope that we are going to improve our lives. Some people write down their resolutions and plans for the coming year. This helps them to remember their resolutions. Others tell their family and friends about their wishes and plans.

There are different kinds of resolutions. Some are about physical health. For example, some people promise themselves they are going to start an exercise program or eat less fast food. Many resolutions have to do with self-improvement. These are about making yourself a better person. Some people might say they are going to take up a hobby like painting or taking photos, or learn to play the guitar. Some resolutions have to do with better planning, like making a weekly plan for schoolwork. For example, a student may have to find more time to study.

Although there are differences, most resolutions have one thing in common. People hardly ever keep them! There are good reasons for this. Sometimes the resolutions may be too difficult to keep. Sometimes people just forget about them. For this reason, some people say the best resolution is to have no resolutions! How about you-will you make any next year?

These days, Chinese children are sometimes busier on weekends than weekdays because they have to take so many after-school classes. Many of them are learning exam skills so that they can get into a good high school and later a good university. Others are practicing sports so that they can compete and win. However, this doesn’t only happen in China.

The Taylors are a typical American family. Life for Cathy Taylor’s three children is very busy. “On most days after school,” Cathy says, “I take one of my two boys to basketball practice and my daughter to football training. Then I have to take my other son to piano lessons. Maybe I could cut out a few of their activities, but I believe these activities are important for my children’s future. I really want them to be successful. However, the tired children don’t get home until after 7:00 p.m. They have a quick dinner, and then it’s time for homework.

Linda Miller, a mother of three, knows all about such stress. “In some families, competition starts very young and continues until the kids get older,” she says. “Mothers send their small kids to all kinds of classes. And they are always comparing them with other children. It’s crazy. I don’t think that’s fair. Why don’t they just let their kids be kids? People shouldn’t push their kids so hard.”

Doctors say too much pressure is not good for a child’s development. Dr. Alice Green says all these activities can cause a lot of stress for children. “Kids should have time to relax and think for themselves, too. Although it’s normal to want successful children, it’s even more important to have happy children.”

   Write a short passage about your parents’ changes in the past three years when they get along with you. （写一篇关于在过去三年里你的父母在与你相处过程中变化的短文。）（请根据下面的提示, 在答题卡第六节下面, 写出一篇90-120词的短文。