（十六）
Long ago, people in Rome（罗马） talked to one another in Latin（拉丁文）. Pupils in school learned to read and write in Latin. Books are in Latin.
Some Romans（罗马人） went to other parts of the world. They took their language with them. Soon Latin was used in many countries. It became a world language.
People in other countries did not talk in Latin the same way. In each land, they changed the language a little. As time went by, they made more changes. At last they did not talk in Latin any more. New languages had come from the old one.
People do not talk to one another in Latin today. But they still use many Latin words. You do, too. Street, wall, city, and salt are some of the Latin words we use. You are a pupil in school. Pupil is a Latin word. It means “little doll”.
1. Latin was used by people in _____.
A. Rome B. the United States C. Greece(希腊) D. Texas
2. The word in the story that means what people speak and write is ______
3. The story says, “People do not talk to each other in Latin today. But they still use many Latin words,” The word they means ________.
4. Which of the following does this story lead you to believe?
A. It is not good to change a language.
B. Pupils in schools today play with dolls.
C. Not many people can read Latin today.
5. What happened to Latin when it was taken to other countries?(which sentence is exactly like the one in your book?)
A. In each land, people talked about each other.
B. In each land, they changed the language a little
C. In each land, the children had to speak some Latin.
6. The main idea of the whole story is that ________.
A. Romans did not like to stay home
B. people in old Rome talked a lot to each other.
C. Latin changed as it moved from land to land.
Key: 1. A 2. language 3. people 4. C 5. B 6. C
（十七）
A Leg Walking Right
Here are some signs + - x…, the signs are very different. They mean very different things. When you see them, you know what to do. This sign + means that you will add some numerals. This sign—means that you will take one numeral away from another. You will subtract（减去）. What will you do when you see x and… ?
Our signs are easy to read. They are easy signs to remember. Look at these two signs… .The ancient Egyptians used these signs. A picture of a leg walking to the left told them to add some numerals. A picture of a leg walking to the right told them to subtract.
In the 1500s people used this printed（印刷的） sign & to add numerals. After a while the sign began to look like this… .Later, the sign became +.
How much is 2…2?
1. What do you do when you see this sign +?
A. Walk away B. Write a numeral C. Read a sign D. Add
2. The word in the story that means to take one numeral away from another is _____.
3. The story says, “Our signs are easy to read. They are easy signs to remember”. The word they means ______.
4. Which of the following does this story lead to believe?
A. Egyptians could not add numerals together
B. All Egyptians had two left legs.
C. Our signs are not hard to understand
5. What did the sign to add numerals begin to look like(which sentence is exactly like the one in your book)?
A. After a while, the sign began to look like this… .
B. After a while, the sign began to look like this +.
C. After a while, the sign began to look like this &.
6. The main idea of the whole story is that ______.
A. the signs for adding and subtracting have changed.
B. People could not write in the 1500s
C. the old signs were good for Egyptians but not for us
Key: 1.D 2.substract 3.signs 4.C 5.A 6.A
(十八)
Mexico's neighbours are the United States to the north and Guatemala and Belize to the south. Mexico is about one quarter of the size of the United States. Mexico has more than ninety million people. The language of Mexico is Spanish. This makes Mexico the world's largest Spanish-speaking country.
Mexico City is the capital and largest city of Mexico. The city is also very high. It is 7349 feet high (2240 metres). This makes it one of the highest capital cities in the world. The population, of Mexico City grows bigger every day. About thirty million people live there. It has more people than any other city in the world, even more than Tokyo.
Mexico also has its specialities. Many of the foods we eat started in Mexico. Foods like beans, maize, avocados, tomatoes, peanuts, chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate come from Mexico. Mexico is also famous for its cactus (仙人掌) plants. Mexico has more kinds of cactus than any other country.
(Words: 161 Minutes: 3 )
1. Mexico is ____the USA.
A. on the south of B. on the north of
C. a part of D. as large as
2. Mexicans speak______.
A. English C. French
B. Spanish D. Latin(拉丁语)
3. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Mexico City is the capital of Mexico.
B. The population of Mexico City is 30,000,000.
C. Tokyo is one of the cities with the largest population.
D. Mexico City is the highest city in the world.
4. Tomatoes were originally (最初) grown in ______.
A. America B. Spain C. Tokyo D. Mexico
5. The best title (题目) of the passage is ___.
A. Mexico City B. Mexico's plants
C. Mexico D. Mexico's population
[Key] 1. A 2. B 3. D 4. D 5. C
（十九）
A Trip to the Forest
One day Bob took two of his friends in-to the mountains. They put up their tents (帐篷) and then rode off to a forest to see how the trees were growing.
In the afternoon when they were about ten kilometres from their camp(营地), it start-ed to snow. More and more snow fell. Soon Bob could hardly see his hands before his face. He could not find the road. Bob knew there were two roads. One road went to the camp, and the other went to his house. But all was white snow. Everything was the same. How could he take his friends back to the camp?
Bob had an idea. The horses! Let the horses take them back! But what would hap-pen if the horses took the road to his house? That would be a trip of thirty-five kilometres in such cold weather!
It was getting late. They rode on and on. At last the horses stopped. Where were they? None of them could tell. John looked around. What was that under the tree? It was one of their tents!
1. John and his two friends went to the forest to ____.
A. build their camp
B. find their way home
C. enjoy the mountains in the snow
D. watch the trees in the forest
2. They could not find their way back be-cause ____.
A. there was only one road to their camp
B. they couldn't decide which of the two roads led to their tents
C. there were no roads in the mountains at all
D. everything was covered by the white snow
3. It is clear that they wanted the horses to take them to ____.
A. John's house B. the camp
C. the forest D. the mountains
4. The horses stopped because____.
A. it was getting late
B. they were tired after running for a long way
C. they knew that they had got to the camp
D. they had seen John's house
5. The story happened ____.
A. on a cold winter day
B. on a dark snowy evening
C. in a cold camp far from villages
D. at night when nothing could be seen
[Key] 1. D 2. D 3. B 4. C 5. A
（二十）
Two farmers were on their way home one evening after a hard day's work. Both were tired. They happened to look up at the sky and saw a black cloud overhead.
"Ah!" said one farmer, "tomorrow we shall have rain and the rice will grow well." The second answered, "Nonsense (胡说), the rain will only kill the crops (庄稼)."
So they began to quarrel (争吵). Just then a third farmer came along and asked them why they were quarreling. Both farmers explained about the black cloud.
"What cloud?" asked the third farmer. They all looked at the sky. The cloud was no longer there.
Choose the right answer
1. The two farmers were _____.
A. going home
B. going to the field
C. going to work
D. going to see their friend
2. The two farmers _____ on that day.
A. had a holiday
B. didn't work
C. worked hard
D. wanted to quarrel with each other
3. When there are black block clouds in the sky, _____.
A. it will rain soon
B. it will be fine
C. it will get hot
D. the sun is shining brightly
4. The two farmers fought in words because _____.
A. they were hungry
B. it rained
C. one said the rain would do good to the crops and the other didn't think so
D. they both hoped for rain
5. The third farmer came with and said to the other two. He _____.
A. wanted to make friends with them
B. joined them in the quarrel
C. wanted to know why they were quarreling
D. had nothings to do
6. How many farmers said that the rain would be helpful? _____.
A. None B. One C. Two D. Three
Keys: ACACCB
