吉林省初中英语七年级下学期期末专项练习（阅读理解2）

    Today we are learning about World Water Day. Our teacher asks us to find something about it and then write a report. So I look for the following information on the Internet.

    World Water Day is on March 22 every year. It teaches people the importance of fresh water. And it asks people to do something to save water. Nowadays, the water problem is a serious problem for the people in the world.

    Many schools give much support (支持) to World Water Day. They are trying to teach students the importance of saving and reusing water. For example, Michigan State University held a contest(竞赛)for" best World Water Day poster" in2017. Primary school children in the Philippines took part in a "My School Toilet" contest in 2010.

    As for World Water Day, there is also a theme (主题) for each year, such as "Leaving no one behind" in 2019, " Nature for Water" in 2018 and" Why Waste Water?" in 2017. The first World Water Day started in 1993. It is an international day now.

    Alan comes from New York, and now he is having a great time visiting his aunt in China. Today is Sunday. It's his eleventh birthday. He gets up early and wants to make a cake for his birthday party in the afternoon.

    When he comes out of his bedroom, he sees a big bowl of noodles on the table. It's a bowl of tomato and egg noodles. Alan usually has bread and milk for breakfast in America. Alan likes the tomato and egg noodles, but he still wants to know why his aunt cooks noodles this morning

    "It's your birthday today," his aunt says, *in China, many people eat very long noodles on their birthdays. It's a symbol of long life. We never cut up the noodles, and we call the long noodles changshou noodles.”

    "Thanks. I think it's my first special gift I get for my birthday," says Alan.

    It's seven o'clock. Jenny gets up and takes a shower. Next she gets dressed and goes to the kitchen to have breakfast.

    Jenny usually has some milk and bread for breakfast. After breakfast she makes her room tidy. Her mother did it for her before, but it's her job now. She feels very happy to give a hand to her mother. She always walks to school alone (单独) because it is just down the street.

    After morning lessons Jenny goes to have lunch at the school dining hall. She eats with her best friends and they talk about all kinds of things. Movies are always their favorite topic (话题).

    In the afternoon it's time to play different sports. Jenny likes to practice them all but she likes basketball best. At 4: 00 p.m. she is at home. Her parents come back from work at 6: 30 p. m. Jenny does her homework first, and then she listens to music or watches TV.

    Dinner time is about 7: 30 p.m. Jenny helps her mother. After dinner Jenny's father cleans the kitchen. Jenny and her mother help him. Jenny tells her parents interesting things at school. She enjoys staying and talking with her family.

    Many people work long hours and don't have time to cook or go to a restaurant to have a proper meal. What do they do? The answer is street food. Sandwiches, hot dogs and doughnuts (炸面圈) are popular all over the world. But many countries have their own special kinds of street food, too. "Fish and chips" is popular in the UK. People buy it in special places and eat it out of a paper bag. Crepes（薄煎饼）are French special. There are sweet crepes with chocolate or jam. But crepes with cheese, tomato and mushrooms are also delicious. Mexican tacos（墨西哥玉米面豆卷）are thin corn pancakes called tortillas (玉米粉圆饼) with meat, beans, cheese and tomato sauce. They're really spicy! Noodles are very popular in China, Korea, Japan and other countries in Asia. They are a cheap and tasty meal.

    Peter and Alice are talking about their studies and life (学习和生活).

	I have a good time at school. First, the classes are useful and I learn a lot. I find English is not difficult and geography is very interesting. But I think Chinese is not easy. Next, I have three good friends. With their help, I can play baseball well. I want to take a trip with them during the Spring Festival (在春节期间).
	I have a good time too. I want to thank our P.E. teacher Michael. He teaches (教) me to play tennis. Playing tennis helps me be healthy. I want to thank my mom, too. She is busy, but she looks after (照顾) me well. And she helps me have a good habit, my small room, my red schoolbag and my big desk are always tidy.

I am a volunteer teacher. Once I traveled a long way to a small village school in Guingxi. On my way there, I imagined the village, the school, and the children there. However, my heart sank when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all! The school had only three rooms, one for Grades 1, 2, and 3, and another for Grades 4, 5 and 6.There was a third once for me.

On my first day, the children welcomed me warmly. They asked me a lot of questions, and Itold them stories about myself and my life in Shanghai. The next day. I gave them a test. To my surprise, though the test was very easy, over half of the students failed it. I knew they needed me.

I was busy preparing lessons and reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard-working children and I could see that they were making progress with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their lives better, and we are now good friends.

I have worked in the village for a year now I'm very happy and the experience has been very useful to me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I will continue working there.

Dear Zhao Na,

Do you have a good time in Beijing? How is the weather there? I think it is very cold in winter, isn't it? I have fun in New Zealand. I like my new school. My teachers and classmates are friendly to me. Oh, there are twelve students in my class. Li Mei and I are from China. Jim and Susan are from Japan and the others are New Zealanders. Oh, the weather in New Zealand is interesting. There are four seasons here, too. Spring starts from September. ln spring, it is warm. Summer starts from December. In summer, it is sunny and hot. Autumn starts from March. In March, it is windy and cool. Winter starts from June. In winter, it is cold.

Yours,

Zhang Han