A.You should let your cat inside.

B. Going outside is bad for cats, too.

C. Keeping a cat is good for you.

D. The birds are fewer and fewer in America.

E. Cats can bring illness.

F. Cats kill many birds and small animals every year.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Many kinds of birds live in the United States，but the number of the birds is becoming smaller every year. One of the leading reasons is the growing number of pet cats. By keeping your pet cats in your home，you can help give birds a better possible chance to live.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Of the 90 million pet cats in this country，about two­thirds are allowed to go outside. It is said that these cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year as well as billions of small animals such as rabbits and field mice.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}They can also bring illness to the animals that live in people's yard(院子)，and further weakening(变弱)the health of the natural populations.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Allowing pet cats to go outside is not just bad for birds and wildlife(野生动物). It is bad for the cats themselves, too. Outdoor cats can get sick very easily. They may be in danger from traffic and attacks(攻击)from other animals. In fact，outdoor cats usually don't pass the age of five, while indoor cats often live to be 17 or older.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Keep your pet cat inside！If you raise a young cat, it's your duty to let it play inside.

Complain(抱怨) Politely

    Not everything goes the way you want it to. You may go to a restaurant and order a nice meal. But your order is wrong or not cooked properly. You may buy a product that breaks the next day.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}However, if you speak angrily to people, they will become defensive(自卫的). Then they are less likely to help you. A more effective (有效的)way to get what you want is to stay calm.

Use polite language and a friendly tone of voice. Start with phrases such as, " I'm sorry to bother you, but. "or" Excuse me, but could you.?" For example, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I ordered potato soup, not vegetable, "Phrasing your complaint as a question also helps. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}Could you help me? I just bought this phone case yesterday, but it's cracked."

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}There is no faster way to make someone defensive than by blaming them. Use the phrase." I know this isn't your fault, but…"or"There has been a misunderstanding." {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Blaming people isn't as important as getting a problem fixed!

    There are honest mistakes, but at times someone may try to take advantage of you. In that case, don't say "Hey! You're trying to cheat me! "Instead, use the phrase, "I understood that…" For example. "I understood that the service charge was included in the price. Then give the person a chance to answer.

    If you don't get what you want with polite conversation, ask to speak to a manager or supervisor. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

    Last Friday night I went to a great party. It was a birthday party for my English teacher Mrs Brown. Students in my class all went to celebrate(庆祝) her 40^th birthday. We began to prepare for(为……做准备) the party two weeks before that, but Mrs. Brown didn't know anything about it.

    We all met at a restaurant at a quarter to seven. There were about 30 people. Mrs. Brown's son took her to the restaurant and they arrived at seven o'clock. Just before seven, we all stayed in one room of the restaurant and it was dark in the room.

    When they got to the restaurant, Mrs. Brown's son asked her to go into the room first. Then we all shouted, "Surprise!"

    Mrs. Brown was really surprised. She jumped when she heard us. Then we sang "Happy Birthday to You" and she knew what was happening(发生). We all had a great dinner and then a delicious birthday cake.

    For her birthday, Mrs. Brown got a beautiful quilt. We all printed(印) our photos on it. So it was a very special quilt.

    Mrs. Brown enjoyed the party, and we enjoyed it, too.

Information Card

    An Australian dog called Maggie has passed away this week, and her owner thinks she may just be the world's oldest dog.

    Maggie lived on Brian McLaren's dairy farm (奶牛场) in Woolsthorpe, in southern

    Victoria Australia. We got her when she was only a little pup, just 8 weeks old. We believe she was 29 years old, "Mr. McLaren said. The McLaren family brought Maggie home before their son started attending school. He is now 34. When the kids were growing up, they'd get off the school bus at 4:10 pm and if they were late, she'd be there Barking (叫) at 4:15," Mr. McLaren said. Maggie worked on the farm bringing cows together until about 12 years ago. "She wasn't pampered (娇惯) but she was well looked after. She always had milk—but not too much of it. She loved her milk. "Mr. McLaren said.

    "She loved running after the farm motorbike. When she was younger she would want to run long beside it, so the faster you went, the more quickly she would run. She had the greatest life."

    Mr. McLaren said Maggie passed away peacefully. She died in her sleep on Sunday night. "The last couple of weeks I was sad I was going to have to put her down, and that was going to break my heart," he said. "I'm so pleased she went the way she did."

    According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest age recorded for a dog is 29 years and five months—for another Australian working dog named Bluey.

    Reading is fun! Besides for fun, we can also analyze (分析) texts to learn more from the texts and more about the texts. One way we can do this is by finding out the theme of the texts.

    The theme of a text is the "big idea" that runs through the text, connecting the characters and events. It is what the writer wants to tell us through the story. Usually the theme of a text isn't told directly, you have to use clues (线索) in the text to find it out. 83 Themes can be ideas like family, friendship, love and so on. The theme might not be just one word, but it might be an idea such as "Friendship is important." There may also be more than one theme in a story. How can we find out the theme of a text? The following steps may help you.

    Read through the whole text, usually characters change as the story goes on, so the theme you get at the beginning might not be true at the end! For this reason, you need to read through the whole text first.

    Find out the clue after reading the whole text, try to answer the following questions. What important events happened during the story? What was the problem? How did the problem get solved? How did the character(s) change? What did the character(s) learn? The answers may help you to get the clues.

    Get the big idea Read again for the writer's purpose of the text by answering the following questions. Was most of the plot(情节) around friendship? Did the characters solve problems with their families? Did the main character learn the importance of friendship? If one of the answers is "yes", you may get the big idea.

    Check the big idea out If you've found a "big idea", go through the text to find the evidence( 证 据 ) that supports this idea in the text. For example, if there was only one small problem with a character's family, then "family" might not be the theme of the text. You might find more evidence for other themes.

    Have you got the way to find out the theme of a text? 84 Get your favorite book quickly and see if you can find the theme out!

    David wants to buy a Christmas present for his mother. David's father gives him $ 5 a week and David puts $2 into his bank account(账户) every week. After three months David takes $ 20 out of his bank account and goes to the shop. He looks for a great present. He sees a beautiful brooch(胸针) in the shape of his favourite pet. He says to himself, "My mother loves jewellery(珠宝), and the brooch costs only $ 17. " He buys the brooch and takes it home. He wraps(裹) the present in Christmas paper and then puts it under the tree. He is very happy and he wants to see the joy(喜悦) on his mother's face that day. When his mother opens the present, she screams(尖叫). She sees a spider(蜘蛛).