阅读短文，根据要求完成文后的题目。

 Nick's family had just moved to town, and today was his first day in a new school.

 Nick was nervous. He did not have any friends at this school.

Nick's mother walked with him to school. He walked into the classroom and chose a desk at the back of the class. Nick's new teacher came over to him and said, “Hello, I am Mrs. Smith. You must be Nick. ”

 He shyly nodded his head. Then Mrs. Smith said, “Class, I'd like you to meet Nick. His family just moved here, and he is going to be in our class.”

 Nick was happy that Mrs. Smith introduced him to the class. He was even happier when the boy next to him said, “Hi, Nick. I'm Marcus.”

 The first part of the day went by very quickly. Mrs. Smith gave Nick all of the books he would need and showed him what chapter（章节）the class was working on.

 Soon, the lunch bell rang. Nick got nervous again. He did not want to eat his lunch by himself. As he walked into the lunchroom with the rest of his classmates, he started looking for a place to sit. Marcus invited Nick to sit with him.

After school, Marcus asked Nick where he lived. Nick lived only three houses down the street from Marcus, so the boys agreed to walk home together. After they finished their homework, Marcus came over to Nick's house to play catch. When Nick went to bed that night, he could hardly wait for school the next day.

    It was a summer evening.  Rose was in the yard watching the stars with her family. Rose felt bored because all the stars were the same. As the whole family looked at the sky, Rose looked at the ground.She saw a lovely cat sitting beside her feet.  Then she gave him something to eat and called him Frank.

    That summer, Rose fed Frank every day.  But she couldn't make the decision to take him into her house.  Frank just came at about six o'clock every evening.  Rose would feed him whatever she could find.  She didn't know where he went after meals, but she knew he would always come back the next day.

Though the weather changed, their routine didn't change.  Then winter came.  In the first cold month, Frank came five times a week. During the next month, he only came every three days. By the end of the year, Rose hadn't seen Frank for two weeks.  Rose was very worried. She told her mother about it.  "Don't worry, honey," said her mum.  "I think Frank will appear again when it warms up,And when he comes, I think you can invite him to move inside." "Really? Thank you, Mum!" Rose said happily.  She was so eager to see her friend again.

Dear Mum and Dad,

    We have some exciting news for you. Jenny is going to have a baby! {#blank#}1{#/blank#} At first, the doctor said she might have some trouble with the baby. Now he says she is just fine. She is very healthy and happy! She still works on her paintings every day. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} She gets tired more quickly now.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} We're moving to New York! We want to be closer to you and Jane. It's much nicer to be near the family. Jenny grew up in Mexico, and she doesn't have a family member here. So that makes you even more important for us.

    Jenny is a little worried about working in New York. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} In Italy her paintings are already popular. But I'm sure people will like her in New York. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} I'm still working for the New York Times. I'll be writing about the United Nations in New York. We're planning to move next month.

    See you then!

Yours,

Jim

    August has always been difficult for me. It is the time when I realize that the books my English teacher assigned(布置) to me are not going to read themselves and that I have a difficult month in front of me.

    You might think that I don't want to spend my summer reading, hut that's not the problem；I love reading. On the first day of summer holiday this year, I borrowed a Gathering of Old Men by African-American writer Ernest Gaines. I enjoyed it very much. I read all the magazines that my parents subscribe to(订阅) and spend about     minutes every day with the morning newspaper.

    So why do I hate summer reading for school？Because the books on summer reading lists are often slow-going and just uninviting(不吸引人的) . Teachers don't under-stand that summer reading can be interesting as well as educational. They choose books called "spinach books": good for you, but not much fun to take in. Every summer, I read them, hate them and get bitter about the experience.

    This bitterness started three years ago when 1 began high school. As preparation. my English teacher told me to read The Age of Innocence(《纯真年代》). At 14, I couldn't understand the love 100 years ago in the story. I only know my love for baseball. The Age of Innocence was completely different to my life. What is more, sometimes I guess teachers don't think exciting plots make for "good literature". To me, a good writer describes events and characters in a way that makes the reader want to know what happens next.

    If I were making up a summer reading list, it would include The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. These are all books that have literary value(文学价值) and can also entertain kids. If the teachers could add a little fun into the books they assign, my Augusts would be a lot more enjoyable.

    Jack Smith is my best friend. He is 12 years old. He is from America. 他最喜欢的运动是足球。He likes basketball, too. He likes swimming very much. He often goes swimming with his father at weekends, he thinks it is very interesting. He can speak Chinese, but he can't write in Chinese. Jack Smith doesn't like English, he thinks it is too difficult. Jack has got a big family. He lives with his grandpa, grandma, father, mother, brother, and sister. Jack's mother always makes a big dinner for the family on Saturday evening. They are a happy family!