Now many people like to keep dogs as their pets. But how did dogs become humans' close friends?

    In some places of Europe (欧洲), about 10,000 years ago, some wild (野生的) dogs often came to human's houses to find food. The wild dogs looked different from the ones today. They looked like wolves (狼). At first, they felt ① frightened. They always stood and looked for a short time. Then they got the food and ran away. Sometimes the young dogs couldn't run fast and people caught them. People trained them and the young dogs grew up with the help of people. Slowly, the wild dogs became home dogs. They could make home safe when people were away. They helped people hunt (狩猎). They helped people keep warm on cold nights. ② Sometimes, they could smell and hear danger before people could. In some cold places, they helped people pull (拉) things people need.

    Now there are more than 400 different kinds of dogs in the world. And they look different from each other. The number and kind are growing all the time. Today, some people mainly (主要地) regard dogs as pets. In fact, dogs are really our close friends. We should protect them from being killed.

    Maria is a beautiful young girl. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes. But she is still very insecure(缺乏信心的). She often thinks most of her friends are more beautiful than her. One day a new girl joined her class. Her name is Sarah. She has dark brown hair and green eyes. Maria thought the new girl was beautiful and wished she looked like her. One day she decided to take action.

    She went out and bought some hair dye（染发）. When she returned home, she told her mother what she planned to do.

    "It's your decision," said her mother sadly. "But I think you look beautiful as you are."

    Maria didn't hear what her mother said. She spent a few hours dyeing her hair dark brown. She felt much better and went to school happily the next day. As she reached her class she saw a new blonde girl sitting near the front. Later she knew it was Sarah. Sarah dyed her hair blonde. It was almost the same color as Maria's was before. Sarah turned around and Maria spoke to her.

    "Why do you dye your hair?" asked Maria.

    "Well, I always love your hair' said Sarah.

    Maria sat down and sighed(叹气).

B

Venus is close to Earth．It is the second planet from the Sun．Earth is the third planet from the Sun．Venus is similar to Earth in size and mass (质量).It is often described as Earth's“sister”.

    Scientists have been learning about Venus for a long time．First they looked at Venus through telescopes(望远镜)．But Venus is covered with thick(厚的)clouds．Scientists could not see Venus well through the clouds．So they made guesses about it．

    For a long time, scientists thought that Venus had water and plants．They thought Venus might have animals，too．But they didn't know for sure．

    Then scientists found a way to learn more about Venus．In the 1960s，they began sending probes (航天探测器) to Venus．The probes flew through the thick clouds．They took pictures of Venus up close．They found out many things ,too．The probes sent the pictures and things they found out back to the scientists．

    The scientists learned a lot from the probes．First they learned that most of their guesses were not right．And they learned that Venus is very hot．

    After that，scientists knew they could not send people to Venus．But they still wanted to know more about it．So they sent new probes．These new probes took great pictures of the planet．The pictures showed that Venus has plains(平原)and mountains! And in some ways，Venus looks like Earth．

    Some students are going to some different places this weekend. Where are they going? Can you find their places they want to go?

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Sally: I have a pen pal in Wenchuan. Some days ago, I got a letter from her. She said she needed some school things. I bought some and I want to post them to her. So this weekend, where will I go? Do you know?

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}Ricky: I don't like weekends. For me, I have no weekends. My parents usually ask me to go to evening school to learn English and other subjects. I always feel tired. That's why I don't like weekends.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}Barbara: I love weekends. I can do what I want to do. I want to go to a quiet place to study because Mid-term Exam（期中考试）is coming. I want to borrow（借）some books from that place and return（还）some to that place. Do you know where I want to go?

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Angle: This weekend will be an exciting one for me. My parents are going to take me to have something special in the place. It is said that we can try some Indian food. Isn't it interesting?

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Stella: I want to relax myself on weekends. This weekend, I want to do something different. I want to go to this place. There, you can see many kinds of animals there. And children like to go there with their parents.

A.   B.    C.

D.    E.

{#blank#}1{#/blank#}⑴Research suggests that at least 64% of people now spend up to four hours daily of spare time in front of a screen. Just as TV watching has been linked to higher chances of being fat and getting diseases.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}⑵When you're at home, make it a rule that you can't be online if the sun is shining. Instead, you have to go for a walk, ride a bike, swim or get some other kinds of healthy physical activities for at least an hour before you can pull out your phone or tablet, or take a seat at the computer.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#}⑶Social networks have changed computer and mobile use for people of all ages. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, limit the amount of time you spend on social media.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#}⑷Challenge yourself to read at least 30 pages of a great book before you check your computer or mobile phone. Pick the right reading material and you'll soon find you've discovered an enjoyable pastime.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#}⑸It's amazing how much you can achieve when you're not glued to (长时间盯着) a screen. Do a list of one-hour evening projects. Some suggestions are organizing kitchen cupboards, cleaning your bedroom. Then try to do one each evening.