Thousands of years ago, the ancient people of Babylon and Egypt studied the stars in the sky and created the zodiac（黄道十二宫图）. It was first used to count time. Later, many people used the stars to describe a person’s character and to foretell（预言）what would happen in the future.

  A person’s zodiacal sign is connected to his or her birth date. Some believe this sign can tell us about a person’s character. For example, some think that a person born under the sign of Cancer (between June 22 and July 23) is kind and home-loving.

  In many countries in Asia, people believe the Chinese horoscope can describe character and foretell future events. In the Chinese horoscope, there are future events. In the Chinese horoscope, there are twelve animals. A person’s animal sign is connected to his or her birth year. Each animal has a different type of character. People born in the Year of the Rat are friendly, but careful. Those born in the Year of the Monkey are smart and good at making money.

  In Asia, a person’s blood type is also used to describe character. People with the blood type A are calm and serious, but they may be selfish. People with the blood B are independent but may be lazy. People with the blood type AB are honest, and people with the blood type O are talkative.（健谈的）

  Not everyone believes that star signs or blood types can be describe character. But reading the horoscope can still be a lot of fun.

One day, on his way home, he met Mary. They were both happy. He asked the girl to his house, she agreed happily. He bought some fruit and drinks for her. And they talked about their school, teacher, classmates and their future. They talked for a long time.

"Have a look at your watch, please." said the girl ."What time is it now?"

"Sorry, something is wrong with my watch," said Jack.. "Where's yours?"

"I left it at home."

Jack thought for a moment and found a way. He began to stamp his foot on the floor, "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound woke his grandma up. The old woman shouted downstairs, "It's twelve o'clock in the night, Jack. Why are you still jumping upstairs?"

Once upon a time in India, there was a town called Boring. It was by the side of Dull Lake. It was a strange town. The people of Boring never smiled; they did not know how to laugh—whether they were grown-ups or children.

No one knew how to smile, laugh or crack a joke. Life was really dull and boring. No one played any games, because there were no playgrounds in the town.

One day the town had a visitor. Ekta’s grandmother had come visiting. It was her first time in Boring. She had silvery hair and a smile that stretched（伸展）from ear to ear. Even her eyes smiled. The people of Boring found her very surprised.

Ekta’s grandmother decided to change it. She was good at telling jokes. She knew many jokes. The funny jokes made people laugh. Once they laughed together they felt warm towards each other. They made friends for life. Grandma was satisfied. Her work was done. She returned home. Since then, wherever children have laughed and played with each other, those villagers, towns and cities have never seen any unlucky things.

Dear Reader ,

Imagine an 11-year-old girl washing clothes , looking after a baby , working hard in the field all day . Imagine a little girl who knows there will not be enough food for dinner , who can’t fill her stomach with water because it’s polluted , and who has watched her father , little brother and sister die because the family is too poor to see a doctor . Is it hard to believe ? For Maria Pastora , these are the real life .

Maria would gladly walk miles to school , but her mother needs her at home . If Maria grows up without going to school , what will be her future ?

But for just 52 cents a day , you can sponsor a child like Maria . Through “ Save the Children ” , you can help Maria’s mother get the tools , the ways she can turn their poor food into a good dinner , the money she needs to buy clothes and school things for Maria .

To help Maria most , you money is put together with that of other sponsors , so hard-working people can help themselves . Build a school , a hospital … bring in clean water . This is what “ Save the Children ” has been about since 1932 .

For you there are many rewards（回报）. Have the chance to write to or hear from your sponsored child . Receive photos or progress reports . Know you are helping another person . That’s how “ Save the Children ” works . But without you , it can’t work . Please take a moment now to fill in and post the form below to help a child like Maria and her village .

It can make such a difference in her life and yours .

There are many factors(因素) that can affect climate change. Among these, the population movement is a new one. A research shows us that the movement of many people out of Beijing for the Chinese New Year(CNY) causes the temperature to drop slightly(轻微地). Before holidays, people around Beijing all gather(聚集) here. Besides, buildings and roads, and the heat made by human activities lead to higher urban(城市的) temperatures. So Beijing is deeply affected by “urban heat island(UHI城市热岛效应)”

When the winter holiday comes, most workers leave big cities for their own hometowns. As a result, the UHI effects are not that serious in large cities, but increase in tourists’ destinations(目的地) The research shows that the average(平均的) world temperature rose by 0.85 degrees Celsius between 1880 and 2012. Although this increase is not very obvious, many things have changed with the increase. The sea level has risen. Snow and ice cover has reduced(减少) and had climate(气候) events have become more common. “The CNY holiday offers a unique opportunity(机会) to study the effect.” Zhang Jingyong, lead scientist of the research, said, “Our research strengthens the role of population movements in urban climate, and may help deal with urban environmental problems.”

Lightening the colors of roofs, changing to white roofs, or planting more trees can help to lessen(减轻) UHI effects. Light-colored roofs reflect more solar radiation(日光照射) and reduce energy demand in warm seasons. Trees and grass have cooling effects by biological interaction(互相作用). Low-carbon production and lifestyle play an important role in reducing heat emissions(热量排放) from city buildings, factories, and cars, and thus become another effective means to lessen the heating effects.

Many kids do housework such as doing the dishes, making the bed, and folding the clothes. In exchange, they get some money or other computer time.

    Paying kids for housework is one of the most popular topics, especially at a time when everyone is more careful about money. Some parents think since adults are paid to do their jobs, we should pay kids for everyday housework. But some people don't think kids should get rewards(报酬) for doing housework. Susie Walton, an expert, believes that by rewarding kids, parents are sending a message that work isn't worth doing unless you get something in return. "Running any kind of housework is a team effort, Walton said. "" A home is living space for everyone in the family. It's important for kids to see that we all have responsibilities in the house, and families decide how they want their home to look, and how they are going to keep it looking like what they want. "

    Other people believe that getting a reward encourages kids to do housework, and it also teaches them real world lessons about how we need to work to get money. There are also apps (应用程序) that give kids points and digital gifts that can be redeemed (兑现)either online or in the real world. "Our goal is to give kids lawful power so they can get rewards," says Chris Bergman. "and kids need rewards to help encourage them. "

I am Dave. Some of my classmates are talking in the classroom.

Jill：My grandparents live on a farm. I went there with my sister last month. We stayed for seven days. The weather was usually sunny，so most of the time I played outside with my sister. On the farm，I milked cows，fed chickens and rode horses. I had a lot of fun. I think my trip was great.

Mark：I went to Shanghai with my parents. I wanted to visit some museums，but my parents wanted to go shopping. I didn't like going shopping. So I stayed in the hotel and watched TV all day. It was really a boring trip.

Anna：I think the best place for a holiday is the beach. I went to Sanya with my brother last year. The sand there was white，and it looked very beautiful. We built a big house with it. We swam and enjoyed the sunshine. We ate many kinds of seafood. They were delicious. The trip was great. I hope I can visit there again one day.

①rode horses　②took photos　③milked cows　④fed chickens

（2016年重庆）Many homes have cameras to protect them from danger. The cameras can tell the owners if someone has entered. But the cameras do not know whether the person is a family member, a friend, a postman or a criminal (罪犯).

But a new camera made by a French company can recognize (辨别出) faces. It can tell parents at work that their children have returned from school, or that the mail has been sent to their home. It can also tell them if a stranger has entered their home. When family members enter a home, the smart camera "recognizes" them and sends information to the owner's phone. The owner can choose to see the video then or later. But if an unknown person enters a home, the camera will send a warning sound on the owner's phone.

This is what happened recently to a smart home camera owner named Damien. He lives in Paris.

"On a Friday I was at work, having a big monthly meeting when my phone moved. At first I told myself ‘Oh, it must be a wrong warning,’ but my phone was telling me there was a face that the camera did not recognize. Something was happening in my house!"

"I saw a person I did not know with his shoes on, which is not allowed in my apartment (公寓). I watched it on the video. I felt quite surprised. I hurried back home as fast as possible and called the police on the way. Thanks to the smart camera, the criminal was caught soon," said Damien.

The new smart camera is different from the ones in many homes because it can _________.

In Damien's apartment, people can't _______.

The underlined word "warning" in Para. 2 means __________.

Which of the following sentences is NOT true according to the passage?

The best title of the passage may be "_______".

It is reported that some developed countries have shipped broken parts of computers to China. Last month Hong Kong officers found 131,000 kilograms of broken computers, TVs and phones sent from Japan.

Things like these are called electronic waste, or e-waste. Dealing with them is not an easy job. Every time an old computer breaks down, it needs to be dealt with safely. What is worse, at present, broken computer parts are usuallyburied. It may be hundreds of years before they are really gone in the earth.

Many places in China are polluted by e-waste. Guiyu in Guangdong Province is one of them. This town is named as “the e-waste capital of the world”. It has to deal with 1.5 million kilograms of e-waste each year, from which it makes 75 million yuan. But it comes at a cost. Many of the poisons in e-waste find their way into the environment. An environmental group has found the air, the earth and the rivers in Guiyu badly polluted.

Luckily, the Chinese government wants to change the situation. This year, China passed a new environmental protection law. Computer companies like Lenovo and Dell will be asked to take back their old computers. Hopefully, the problem with e-waste will be solved in the near future.